Dubai’s entrepreneurial ecosystem will help tech start-ups; Sheikh Hamdan

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai has stated that the dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem of the Emirate will help the technology start-ups to compose global success stories.

Sheikh Hamdan has made the comments following a meeting with Pavel Durov, the Chief Executive and founder of Dubai-based instant messaging service Telegram.

“Dubai’s ability to provide a productive, growth-oriented environment for technology start-ups is validated by the fact that some of the world’s most exciting and successful digital companies like Telegram have chosen to run their ventures out of the Emirate. We continue to welcome great talent and ideas to Dubai, which offers a nurturing ecosystem for their development.” said the Crown Prince.

Telegram, which provides cloud-based instant messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services is valued at more than $20 billion. It is projected to have one billion active users every month by 2022 from 570 million users currently, according to the reports.

The popularity of the Telegram, like that of competitor Signal, has surged in recent weeks after users raised privacy concerns about the improvements to the service terms by Facebook-owned WhatsApp.

“The start-up ecosystem, advanced infrastructure and business-friendly legislation offered by Dubai has made it a hub for talent and entrepreneurs aspiring to go global from all over the world,” commented Mr. Durov.

Telegram is one of the popular technology companies that have grown in recent years in Dubai. Other popular firms include Careem, which was purchased last year by Uber for $3.1 billion, and Souq.com, an eCommerce business that was bought in 2017 by Amazon for $580 million.

In the new Global Entrepreneurship Ranking, the UAE was ranked first in the region and fourth internationally, outperforming major global economies such as the US, the UK, Australia, several EU nations, China, Japan, and South Korea.