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KT edit: Careem sale will boost UAE startups

A unicorn is born. Defined as a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion, Dubai-based ride-hailing firm Careem has entered record  books as the Middle East's first unicorn. There's much to cheer about the $3.1-billion buyout deal of Careem by the San Franciso-based Uber. First, of course, is the recognition of a home-grown brand at the global platform (second major acquisition since that of Souq.com by Amazon in 2017). The deal is the largest ever technology sector transaction in the Middle East and puts the spotlight deservingly on a region that boasts of a diverse populace, an underexplored market and ambitious ventures with local flavours.
Second, and more importantly, such a success story is bound to have a huge positive impact on the startup ecosystem in the UAE and beyond. An increasing number of entrepreneurs, especially in the technology space, will be encouraged to take that leap of faith and launch their ventures. Thirdly, the Careem-Uber deal gains significance for creating value and generating new wealth. The Dh11.4-billion deal will not only make the three founders richer but also the employees who hold stock options in the company. If global trends are any indication, a good number of these overnight millionaires will pump their newfound wealth into fresh ventures or go on to support other startups as angel investors, boosting a virtuous cycle of venture capital in the region.
And last but not the least, the deal is a vindication of the time, energy, effort and, most importantly, faith that the UAE government has placed in creating and supporting a startup ecosystem. Businesses, especially startups, thrive on collaboration, support network and access to funding. The UAE government has striven to provide support to new ventures in various sectors, backing several incubators (which support startups at early stages) and accelerators (which help drive the growth of companies through network support) to support entrepreneurs. Dubai is emerging as the Silicon Valley of the Arab world and Abu Dhabi is not far behind, having recently launched a new tech startup hub called Hub71, which will complement initiatives such as StartAD and Dubai Future Accelerators. It's an interesting time for the technology sector. Even as family businesses have traditionally dominated the UAE's business landscape, the government's support for entrepreneurship looks set to create more unicorns in the days to come.