Pandemic funding bubble trouble for Arab digital startups?

Pandemic funding bubble trouble for Arab digital startups?

DUBAI: A rush to fund digital startups in the region risks creating a valuation bubble, according to entrepreneur and Wamda CEO Fadi Ghandour.

It comes a mid a flurry of major funding announcements from regional startups in recent weeks as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh all compete to attract exciting new technology businesses.

But the weight of capital chasing such investments, including from sovereign wealth funds, could lead to valuation bubbles in some cases, Wamda chairman and CEO Fadi Ghandour told Bloomberg TV on Monday.

"Since the pandemic the whole digital ecosystem which we were predicting to happen within ten years actually happened within a couple of months, so everything digital is growing exponentially,“ he told Bloomberg. "Everything that is digital is exploding. So lots of new money and lots of new startups.“