UAE-India innovation bubble boosts startup ecosystem

UAE-India innovation bubble boosts startup ecosystem

In 2009, I visited the UAE for the first time on a family trip that was planned on a whim. I had little time to think about what to expect in the UAE. At the Dubai airport, I was surprised to find myself exchanging pleasantries in Hindi with the immigration officer. At that moment, the shared history of the UAE and India became obvious. Over the past many decades, the UAE and India got plenty of trading done between them. But it was in the last few years that the UAE-India synergy has reached its full potential.

I recently met a couple who had recently set up their own company in Dubai. They were filled with excitement about following their dreams. I also spoke to an entrepreneur who successfully incubated his startup in the UAE and was now looking at scaling it in India. This constant flow of talent, enterprise, and funding between the two nations has motivated so many entrepreneurs like me to take chances, seek new opportunities, dream bigger, adapt, and try harder. This means pooling of resources within industries such as food, technology, retail, which straddle both countries.

The movement of talent between India and the UAE has not