We use an enriched database.
Main sources: Crunchbase, PitchBook, and fieldwork
Cross-validated with media outlets: Magnitt, Menabytes, and Wamda
as well as company websites and founders data (LinkedIn).
1,936
UAE ventures founded 2008-2019
859 startups (+6.3% in 2019)
76% active (as of 2020)
52 exited (+36% in 2019)
1,077 traditional SMEs
68 exited SMEs
1,682
Non-UAE startups founded 2008-2019
613 non-MENA startups
1069 MENA startups (+5.5% in 2019)
77% active (as of 2020)
35 exited (+3% in 2019)
283
Investment firms active in startup rounds 2010-2019
150 funded UAE startups
216 funded non-UAE startups
54 active firms in UAE in 2019
71 UAE investment firms
18 active firms in UAE in 2019
980
Startup rounds with investment firms active in MENA 2010-2019
Seed to series B rounds only
225 with UAE startups
755 with non-UAE startups
353 with non-UAE MENA startups
Quantify the current situation of UAE startup access to capital, to understand its growth trends.
What is the effect access to capital may have on startup’s fate and contribution to the economy. This report analyzes statistical correlations to answer the question “So what?” or why we should care about improving the situation of UAE startup access to capital.
Analyze the investor side of the UAE venture space to understand if it follows unorthodox trends, or underwent a major shift the result of which is a slowdown in startup access to capital.
Analyze the startup side to understand if there are reasons that make UAE investors favor non-UAE startups, establishing a possible reason for the slowdown in UAE startup access to capital.
41 insights data, 36 had not been reported before.
Easy-to-consume action plans to activate the knowledge and learnings from this report series for the benefit of each decisionmaker in their specific business environment: government, investors, startup founders, accelerators and service providers, and researchers and universities.
5 action plans.
<sup>Note 7:</sup> Relative annual change in number of UAE startups who raised a startup round in 2019 vs 2018 is negative. N<sub>pooled</sub>=84, δ=-.13, 95% CI [-.24, -.02] (statistically significant).
<sup>Note 8:</sup> Difference of relative annual change in number of UAE startups who raised a startup round in 2018-2019 vs 2012-2013, …, 2017 vs 2018, is negative in each case except vs 2013-2014. Difference of relative annual change in 2018-2019 vs 2012-2013, …, vs 2017-2018, respectively, 95% CI = ([-1.13, -0.69], [.14, .59], [-1.47, -1.04], [-.96, -.60], [-.52, -.18]) (statistically significant in each case). Relative annual change in 2012-2013, …, 2017-2018, respectively: N<sub>pooled</sub>=(25, 24, 25, 45, 62, 79), 95% CI ([.60, .99], [-.72, -.33], [0.96, 1.34], [.51, .80], [.09, .34], [.21, .44]).
<sup>Note 9:</sup> Relative annual change in number of UAE startups who raised their first round in 2019 vs 2018 is negative. N<sub>pooled</sub>=46, δ=-.296, 95% CI [-.45, -.16] (statistically significant).
<sup>Note 10:</sup> Relative annual change in number of UAE startups who raised a startup round in 2019 vs 2018, and had raised in at least 1 round in a previous year, is not statistically significant. N<sub>pooled</sub>=39, 95% CI [-.11, .21].
Statistical significance and effect size are studied via analysis of confidence interval.
CI is Wilson score interval.
Unless explicitly mentioned, alpha = .05.
† Data for years 2010 and 2011 is not sufficient to test change in UAE startups who raised a round with statistical reliability. Observations O is deemed sufficient iff. each comparison group size n ≥ 5.
Rabbie, Eden. (2020). UAE startup access to capital by 2020. Startup Report MENA [Online]. https://startupreport.me/uae-startup-access-to-capital-2020 (Based on analysis of 1011 equity-only seed, series A, bridge and series B startup rounds, 443 investors, 4730 ventures in MENA 2008-2019; enriched database: Crunchbase, PitchBook and fieldwork. Data last accessed 30 April 2020).
Newcombe, R. G. (1998). Interval estimation for the difference between independent proportions: comparison of eleven methods. Statistics in medicine, 17: 873-890. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0258(19980430)17:8<873::AID-SIM779>3.0.CO;2-I
Newcombe, R. G. (2001). Estimating the difference between differences: measurement of additive scale interaction for proportions. Statistics in medicine, 20: 2885-2893. doi:10.1002/sim.925
Wallis, S. (2013). Binomial Confidence Intervals and Contingency Tests: Mathematical Fundamentals and the Evaluation of Alternative Methods. Journal of Quantitative Linguistics, 20:3, 178-208. doi:10.1080/09296174.2013.799918
Data Analytics and Commercialization in MENA
– 12 years of experience working with governments developing their SME sectors.
– Data science background, CIM, Six Sigma. Japanese-trained.
– Featured author on Medium.
Worked 8 years with the Japanese government to help MENA governments develop their SME sectors, followed by 3 years with UAE government to grow its venture space.
Copyright © startupreport.me and Eden Rabbie 2020-2023. Startup Report MENA is operated by Clearworld, PO Box 415816 Dubai, UAE.
You may use any part of this report for any purpose on condition that you link to it and cite it properly.
Rabbie, Eden. (2020). UAE Startup Access To Capital 2010-2020. Startup Report MENA [Online]. https://startupreport.me/uae-startup-access-to-capital-2020
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