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There is a growth within the Middle East for the Venture Capital as it has a huge potential for the companies and technology-based businesses that are becoming viable and attractive. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are going to drive the business forward in the future which is mainly because of the trends that are beyond the energy, real estate fields and expanding in different sectors is a necessity discussed experts during an online event.
KiwiTech organised the Middle East Venture Fair event which brought together top-tier investors and leaders from the Mena region to discuss the state of venture capital in the Middle East. The event also featured a distinguished panel discussion and rapid-fire pitches from 6-8 premier Middle East-based startups from different industries undergoing disruption.
Dr. Hanan El Basha, Co-Director of Qatar Chapter, Founder Institute discussed about the rise and growth of Venture Capital in the Middle East. “VCs in the Middle East have grown in the last few years as there has been a collective awareness in the region. The role of startups and SMEs is that they drive innovation, employment, and agility of the markets. Over the past years due to the pandemic, we have seen that agility and adaptability were the secret ingredients of survivability. Startups are important for having role within the global markets but also it is driven by technologies, funds and support.
“The rise in the overall entrepreneurial ecosystems within the region is because of globalisation and connectivity through technology and the collective vision of the region is to create more unicorns come out of the Middle East,” she added. Responding to query about what are venture market capitalists looking within the company, she said “From VCs perspective, venture market capitalists are looking into a business that is sustainable and scalable which can be expanded to other markets or whether it can be localised to other markets.”
“We have a rise in the region in sectors such as edtech, healthtech, and within Qatar itself we have sportech because Qatar’s vision has been focusing on education and sports as the main pillars, along with fintech. Without financial technology all the other tech-based businesses will not be able to function to the best of their ability,” she added.
El Basha noted, there is a lot of growth in the region because the bigger percentage are under 35 who are digitally active and innovative ways of doing business have been emerged over the years. She said, “We have to be immersed in the international ecosystem to leverage and capatilise on it.”
Awdesh Chetal Venture Partner, Risin Ventures said, “Essentially Venture Capital as an asset class is a high risk and high growth investor class which is built around innovation, growth, and opportunities. In the region there are two key drivers – market opportunity and digital adoption opportunity as after COVID-19 adoption in the digital space is very high. In the US, Middle East we have very attractive valuations, and these are growth markets.”
As a startup it is important to be innovative and look at the trends in the market. Speaking about the improvements that have been in Qatar and how it is enticing to set up businesses, he said, “We are an early ecosystem which is being built up. There are four to five prominent incubators in the country with government support who are running cohorts and programs to build the local ecosystem. We have seen higher quality startups over the last years and tremendous improvements in startups in areas in fintech, e-commerce.”
Mohsin Syed EVP & Chief Startup Officer, KiwiTech said, “Entrepreneurs should look at a more extended study of the VCs that have investment opportunities in other regions.
Mena startup entrepreneurs have a lot more capital that is looking there way but they have to be true to some of their basics such as to look at the scale of economies and know the customer base in the primary and secondary market.”
Looking at the growth story of Mena, it is a very large digital population that demands content, transactions and connection over a digital medium which should give encouragement to startups. For example, Agritech both in Qatar and other parts of Mena is a huge market and there is tremendous amount of scope for growth across various industry verticals.
Steve Mackie, Founder & Co-Owner of Business Start Up Qatar moderated the event.
