Startups, VCs set sights on Expo 2020 project

Gitex Future Stars  - mega-startup event - has paved way for future entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and incubators among other participants to unlock the massive potential the nation is holding up to and which will continue till Thursday. The venue is bustling with a lot of networking and meetings, chances are you may have to wait for your turn to enter in lounges as both startups and VCs get down busy with business. 
A very interesting development on Gitex day two itself is that most of the global startups, which are having country pavilion, are eyeing Expo 2020 Dubai and want to be part of this global event.
Fatma Ibrahim, senior analyst, Expo Live - who was attending the pavilion at the venue - said: "We are receiving a lot of queries both in terms of what Expo 2020 Dubai is all about and what services can be offered to the UAE. We are carefully looking at every query and giving them a detailed explanation on  Expo 2020 Dubai so the startups as aware how they could benefit by offering the rights services."
Amir Atiatalla, head of strategy, YVOLV, said Gitex future stars offer the company a prolific platform to reach technology entrepreneurs and influential global shapers. 
"Gitex enables us to reach out to a large audience who have potential interest in using YVOLV's leading Alibaba cloud platform. The sky is the limit for startups in the UAE. There is room to grow for startups across all types of industries. As a technology company ourselves, we see so much potential for startups to leverage cloud technologies to scale up rapidly and efficiently," Atiatalla said.
 VC funding in demand
The latest research from Magnitt already proves that 2017 will end on much more positive note as 169 deals were recorded in the first nine months of 2017, which surpasses the 164 deals invested over full year 2016. 
Startups in the UAE are currently tapping a lot of VC funding, says Kushal Shah, head of Roland Berger and founder of Dubai Angel Investors.
"Gitex Future is anticipated to be very active. A lot of networking is scheduled, investors and companies form a very wide radius this time. I'm looking forward to the action and will have my eyes open for opportunities," Shah said. "Gitex is without a doubt the central event of the year for startups in the region between the content covered by the panels; the mentorship and education through the workshops as well as the extensive networking opportunities. There is no better use of time for startup than to be a Gitex, we are very excited, said Amira Rashad, founder, Bulkwhiz. 
Similarly global participants want to capitalise on Dubai's strategic position and be a gateway to Middle East. Amyko, participant at the event is a 360° icloud support for whole health data and services. The online platform and the app allows the easy management of documents and life information. Amyko bracelet, all manufactured in Made in Italy, is constantly connected to the platform through NFC passive technology, which is also powerless making the user feel safe all the time. 
"We have participated in this event as Dubai is the right place to tap funding and bring global services here to facilitate the lives of residents here. We are very optimistic that this event will open opportunities to many global startups here," Riccardo Zanini, COO, coFounder, wecare sri, Amyko said. 
Alessandro De Grandi, CEO and co-founder of HOME3D, endorsed similar positive sentiments.
"Our product is based on augmented reality which gives users a real life glimpse of properties which consumers plan to buy, play with furniture set up  and other activities all in real time with the latest technologies. We are here to seek potential partners to extends our services in the Middle East," he said.
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com