Middle East start-ups must smash ‘scale-up ceiling’ to achieve Unicorn status

Middle East start-ups must smash ‘scale-up ceiling’ to achieve Unicorn status

A “scale-up ceiling” must be broken if Arab innovation is able to product the MENA region's next Unicorn, according to Areije Al Shakar, fund director at Al Waha Fund of Funds.

Recent research from New York Data Analytics firm CB Insights revealed the Arab world has just one single Unicorn – Emerging Markets Property Group, in the UAE, which is currently valued at $1 billion and whose investors include OLX Group, KCK Group and EXOR Seeds.

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Al Shaker told Arabian Business: “Certainly population size is an issue, but a number of countries with populations smaller than even Bahrain's – such as Estonia, Malta and Luxembourg – each boast their own Unicorn.

“There is an abundance of talent in the region, but Arab innovation is faced with a ‘scale-up ceiling'. If we can break