Dubai Tech Tour gives leg up to Indian scale ups
Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted its first Dubai Tech Tour, a virtual trade mission, set up between Dubai Startup Hub and Dubai Chamber’s representative office in Mumbai in partnership with Startup India and Mumbai Fintech Hub. During the three-week mission, the scale-ups took part in more than 160 meetings with public and private sector stakeholders from the UAE, while they also pitched their businesses to prospective investors and business partners. The Dubai Tech Tour familiarised participating scale-ups with Dubai’s economy, business environment and competitive advantages.
Six high-potential scale-ups were selected to participate in the third cohort of Market Access, a Dubai Startup Hub programme that fosters business partnerships between corporates and startups. The Indian scale-ups were shortlisted from a pool of 200 candidates who applied to take part in the trade mission. During the mission, the delegates connected with relevant UAE stakeholders, including investors, corporates, and peer scale-ups, pitch their businesses and participate in business matchmaking sessions organised by Dubai Chamber.
Omar Khan, Director of International Offices at Dubai Chamber, said, “The Dubai Tech Tour is a prime example of how Dubai Chamber is attracting promising global startups that offer cutting-edge solutions that support the emirate’s innovation strategy. The virtual trade mission created new channels of collaboration between business communities in Dubai and India, adding that there is tremendous potential for bilateral business partnerships in the fast-growing fintech and health-tech sectors.”
Kevin Shah, Solutions Consultant at vPhrase Analytics Solutions, one of the Indian scale-ups selected, said, “The Middle East is an important part of our growth plan and the tour was the perfect platform to get guidance in building a GTM strategy for the region as well as make the right connections. We have already seen serious interest from two leading BFSI companies in the region. While we foster those engagements, we will continue implementing the learnings from the tour in other opportunities. Overall, the tour has shown us a path and given us a headstart.”
The Dubai Tech Tour is a continuation of the combined efforts of Dubai Chamber’s Mumbai office’s and Dubai Startup Hub to attract Indian scale-ups and startups that can support Dubai’s vision to become a global innovation hub and knowledge-based economy.
