India-UAE Startup Corridor Launched To Boost Startup Ecosystem

FICCI LEADS, a business incubator of FICCI, and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has inked a memorandum of understanding to launch the India-UAE Start-Up Corridor.

The initiative will help grow the startup ecosystem of India and the UAE. It will further help realise the vision of the two countries under the recently inked Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. 

Earlier, during the Expo 2020 Dubai, the Indian government signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE to enhance bilateral trade, B2B engagement and explore investment opportunities. 

During the Expo 2020 Dubai, FICCI LEAD, Indian Angel Network (IAN), Turbostart, India and MCA Management Consultants, UAE also inked an MoU. Besides, a venture capital fund of $150 Mn was also announced.

Under the latest MoU, FICCI LEAD and DIFC will select at least 50 startups from India and UAE over a period of five years, with an aim to grow a minimum of 10 startups into unicorns by 2025. Also, the UAE aims to create 20 unicorns by 2031, according to the statement.

About 10 tech-enabled startups across sectors including financial services, education and logistics have been selected for the inauguration of the India-UAE Start-Up Corridor in Dubai.

Ganesh Raju, co-chairman of FICCI Start-Up Committee and FICCI LEADS, said, “The India-UAE Start-up Corridor has the potential to be a game-changer. It will bring large pools of funding and provide access to markets for startups from both countries. It is a perfect opportunity for investors to engage through this corridor and help breed the next generation of valuable companies.”

This initiative will build an ecosystem for startups, investors, incubators, corporations and entrepreneurs where they can engage, scale their business and fortify their position in the international market. 

Founded in 2007, FICCI claims to have infused over INR 125 Cr in more than 1000 startups to date. It further asserts that startups backed by it, have generated over 140K employment opportunities and leveraged over 5X capital externally. Out of these startups, about 100 startups have been aiding in expanding their footprint to the US, South Asia and Africa. 

India Achieves A Milestone Of 100 Unicorns 

In the first five months of 2022, 14 Indian startups entered the unicorn club, taking the number of unicorn startups to 100. This is indicative of India’s bolstering startup ecosystem that has minted a century of unicorns in merely eight years. 

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised India’s startup ecosystem for achieving the milestone of 100 unicorns.  

Speaking on Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister said, “another good thing [about India’s unicorns] is that our unicorns are diversifying.”  

Out of 100 unicorns, 23 startups work in the ecommerce segment while 21 startups come from fintech and 13 startups work in enterprise tech. The rest of the startups work in diverse sectors such as traveltech, healthtech, consumer services, logistics, edtech, and media and entertainment. 

Referring to Inc42 data, the Prime Minister also informed that these 100 unicorns are cumulatively valued at over $333 Bn.