The Dubai Tech Hub at the DMCC
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, despite its name, offers much more than opportunities for commodities trades or financial services as we mentioned in our overview about the DMCC. Among the activities happening is its hub as a tech city. What are the opportunities in tech that await you? We’re going over the latest updates.
The DMCC as a technology business centre
The DMCC announced that 805 new companies joined the Free Zone in the first half of 2020. The company formation numbers in May and June were on par with figures from prior years, and a noticeable increase from March and April when demand softened due to the impact of the global pandemic. The Free Zone plans to focus on strategically attracting firms that can drive future growth for the Emirati economy as the UAE aims to bounce back into growth in 2021. One of the critical growth areas for Dubai is tech.
The DMCC is the home of the first Google for Entrepreneurs Global Tech Hub in the Middle East as part of a collaboration with AstroLabs Dubai. The premises for the hub have the facilities looking over a park and a promenade. The Free Zone has an advanced development lab for mobile devices, proving that Google sees the DMCC as a home for vital innovations in this space. It’s not just Google. What did the DMCC do recently to bolster its tech prowess? Let’s have a closer look.
Strengthening ties with China
A critical component of the DMCC’s strategy, along with technology, is strengthening its relationship with China, which is part of the UAE’s overall economic goals. With that in mind, the DMCC recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Innoway. Dubbed China’s Silicon Valley, Innoway is a platform with backing from Beijing and Haidan’s governments to accelerate startups in China. As of 1 July 2020, Innoway has nurtured 3,400 startups and raised around £1 billion in funding. Innoway will use the DMCC as the home of their accelerator that aims to bring Chinese tech startups, innovators and entrepreneurs to the region. The DMCC currently has 500 Chinese companies on its roster.
The world’s largest blockchain hub
Another of the star agreements this year got announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos: the collaboration between Crypto Valley Venture Capital, a venture capital firm with backing from the Swiss government and the DMCC to create the world’s largest ecosystem for blockchain, distributed ledger and cryptographic technologies. The DMCC Crypto Valley will offer services and facilities that include coworking spaces, incubators for early-stage startups, training in blockchain and entrepreneurship and funding, among others.
Both partners also committed to creating a blockchain strategy in line with the Emirates Blockchain 2021 initiative for the DMCC. Crypto Valley DMCC will set up its new home in the Jumeirah Lake Towers business district, which is also the home to the Europe Emirates Group Head Office. As we mentioned, when explaining the UAE’s move to embrace blockchain, the technology will lead to savings in processes. The DMCC’s Future of Trade report found that it could reduce the waste of paper resulting in global trade by up to 20 per cent, translating to an overall cost savings of £1,406,618,100.
Would you like to be part of the magic in the tech hub cities at the DMCC?
If you’re looking to position yourself at the heart of technology and innovation at one of the world’s top Free Zones, company formation at the DMCC could be the right fit for you. As a business in the Free Zone, we can guide you through the process and speak to our experience there first-hand. You can schedule your initial consultation today to get started.
Written by
Inna Klischuk
Advisory, Europe Emirates Group
