UAE Entrepreneurial Nation launches Scaleup Expand initiatives
The Entrepreneurial Nation, the national platform designed to qualitatively transform the UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, launched the first set of initiatives under phase II. Under its ScaleUp track and its ScaleUp Expand sub-track, four agreements have been concluded with the Republic of South Korea, India, Latvia, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support the global expansion of UAE’s startups by providing solutions and advantages at competitive prices that ensure sustainable growth of their diverse business activities.
H.E. Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy, said “The UAE continues to empower key sectors to support the new economic model to which we are currently transitioning into, in line with our wise leadership’s proactive vision for economic diversification. Through ScaleUp Expand, we seek to facilitate UAE startups’ access to global markets and extend all forms of support to ensure their sustainable growth and prosperous futures, in cooperation with a wide network of strategic partners from the region and from around the world.”
Under the ScaleUp Expand sub-track, an agreement was signed with the Korea Federation of SMEs, with an aim to promote cooperation between startups in the UAE and Korea in the sectors of the new economy. These include smart agriculture and advanced technology, enabling UAE businesses to learn about agricultural technology and smart agriculture methods followed in South Korea. It is set to support the efforts and objectives of the UAE’s food security agenda in particular.
Based on an agreement signed with StartUpIndia, under ScaleUp India, the program will facilitate knowledge exchange between SMEs in both countries, implementation of joint programs and capacity building with the aim of providing investment opportunities for startups in both countries.
Yet another agreement was signed with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia with the aim of expanding and enhancing the access of UAE startups to European markets, through the agency’s representative offices. In addition, this partnership will provide a set of competitive advantages that include support from dedicated mentors and information on the nature of the market and education about trade regulations for establishing a business in Latvia.
The initiative will also help startups in the UAE expand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through discounted packages to enter the Kingdom’s market under the agreement signed with AstroLabs. The latter will provide a set of benefits and incentives to companies, including free three-day admission to a workspace in AstroLabs, Riyadh. It will provide advice on the necessary requirements for expansion within the Kingdom.
The Ministry of Economy confirmed that all programs available under the signed agreements are completely free of charge, and that startups can benefit from more than one program, if that they pass the criteria of the programs they wish to join.
