Dubai’s Dtec teams up with Oqal network to market entrepreneurship in the Gulf
16 March, 2021
Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority’s Dtec (Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus) is partnering with Oqal Angel Investors Network, an early-stage investor group operating in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, to support entrepreneurs in the Gulf.
The partnership will look to match angel investors to young entrepreneurs with promising ideas, the entities said in a joint statement on Monday.
“The GCC region includes a growing stock of ambitious young entrepreneurs with ground breaking and pioneering ideas, which requires support to highlight their achievements and carry their creativity alive,” William Chappell, chief financial officer and executive vice president for technology and entrepreneurship at DSOA, said.
Dtec is a sizable technology hub providing support and co-working places for a lot more than 900 start-ups from 72 countries. It serves as an accelerator hub for research, development and production, as well as a community space for occasions.
Start-ups found in the Mena location attracted an archive $1 billion in funding this past year, according to data system Magnitt.
Companies found in the UAE, the Arab world's second-biggest overall economy, received over fifty percent of the - its total show of funding rose 5 % to $579 million.
Start-ups found in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest market, received 15 % of the total financing. Bahrain recorded the highest increase in funding, with capital flows to its start-ups tripling year-on-year to $20m.
Faris Al Rashed, founder and chairman of Oqal, said its arrangement with Dtec gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to shape the region’s monetary future.
“Access to early-stage wise capital and angel expenditure is key to support nurture start-ups … and our partnership with Dtec, a solid backer of UAE and regional start-ups, is invaluable,” Mr Al Rashed said.
Oqal was founded found in Saudi Arabia in 2011 and opened a good branch in Bahrain found in 2019. It possesses a lot more than 190 angel investors from the kingdom and a lot more than 25 from Bahrain in its network.
The agreement will also bring about Dtec-based entrepreneurs pitching to angel investors at joint 'demo day' events.
“We are very excited about this collaboration, which opens doorways for GCC entrepreneurs and start-ups to a substantial source … [of] fiscal and business support,” Khaled Zainalabedin, president and founder of Oqal in Bahrain, said.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com
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