Musthafa & Almana is an international consultancy firm having presence in 4 countries. Our expertise lies in providing bespoke and innovative solutions to our clients’ requirements, while leveraging our deep understanding of the unique cultural and commercial nuances that exist in each jurisdiction that we operate under. Our clients span multiple industries and sectors and range from start-ups to government entities.

1. Start up support as
innovative opportunity
for UAE investors
MUSTHAFA ZAFEER O.V.
Founder & Mg. Director

2. OBSTACLES FACED BY START-UPS
IN THE MENA REGION
 Entrepreneurs can face a mountain of legal and regulatory
red tape.
 Many Startups lack a clear, compelling case
 Expensive workspace
 Hard to find talent
 Funding is scarce as there is a lack of a developed Venture
capital industry
 Classification: SME V Start-up
 Middle-eastern investors are generally risk averse, unless it
is real-estate in Dubai 

3. LEGAL AND LOGISTICAL
ROADBLOCKS
 ‘interesting’ ownership structures in the region
 Unclear legal frameworks: Oasis report by Wamda, 82% of
survey respondents did not understand governmental and
legal regulation
 Language barriers as lot of the departmental documents
are in Arabic
 Expensive legal advice
 No real expertise while dealing with start ups

4. Entrepreneurship ecosystem

5. Eco-system in the MENA REGION

6. Total Entrepreneurial Activity vs.
GDP per Capital

7. Fund Gap in MENA

8. GLOBAL PLAYERS LOOKING AT
THE LOCAL MARKETS
 “Things are definitely changing, since the above graph
 80% of startups and SMEs are self financed
 However the Time is ripe as UAE advances
 A large number of established foreign VCs have seen the
potential in the MENA region, especially the UAE and have
made investments that address the “missing middle”

9. International funders of MENA startups

10. WHY IS THE UAE DIFFERENT?
 Integrated collaboration between government entities
 Economic and political stability
 Ability to attract the right skill and talent
 Dubai
 Educational infrastructure
 Easy access to MENA and the Indian Sub-continent
 Working multi-cultural communities with minimal friction
 Focused on building an eco-system for start-ups

11. Market Trends
 Dubai no longer limited to Oil and Real Estate sectors
 Specific markets growth:-
 E-commerce market expected to reach $10 billion by 2018
(it is the fastest growing market in the UAE – a result of
Dubai becoming SMART)
 Tech Industry – Compound Annual Growth Rate of 8.47%
until 2018
 Social/Digital Media Marketing set to increase by 30% at
the end of this year
 Tourism, Trade and related activities represent 40%

12. CONCLUSION
 With over 30 percent of MENA’s population between the
ages of 15 and 29. representing over 100 million youth, the
MENA region is experiencing a “youth bulge,” according to
a Brookings report.
 UAE is in a perfect position to host enterprises that will
deliver jobs and services to the largely Arab speaking
youth.
 As an investment opportunity, start-ups based out of the
UAE have historically provided some of the highest returns
of the region.