10 Top Dubai Startups to Watch in 2024
Last Updated: By Michaela Dale
Dubai has emerged as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, attracting startups across various sectors like fintech, ecommerce, blockchain, and HR tech. This article showcases 10 of the most promising and exciting startups in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that are worth keeping an eye on. These startups have demonstrated exceptional innovation, growth potential, and the ability to disrupt traditional business models, positioning themselves as key players in shaping the future of technology and business in the region.
Best UAE Startups to Follow
Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation, tech, and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the best Dubai startups of 2024 that startup lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting startups launching and growing, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.
1. Keyper
- Industry: Real Estate, Proptech
- Founders: Omar Abu Innab, Walid Shihabi, Silvia Eldawi
- Founded In: 2022
- Funding: Debt Financing, $40.5 Million
- Investors Include: Pin Investment, Annex Investments, BECO Capital
Keyper is a real estate tech startup that offers a digital platform for real estate investors and tenants. Their software solution automates daily tasks, monitors real estate portfolios, and provides data-driven insights to investors and property owners. Keyper aims to streamline and optimize the management of real estate investments, enabling users to make informed decisions and effectively oversee their properties.
2. GrubTech
- Industry: SaaS, Enterprise Software
- Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed, Mohamed Hamedi, Omar Rifai
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series B, $33.4 Million
- Investors Include: Oryx Fund, BY Venture Partners, Jahez International Company
GrubTech offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for the digital transformation of restaurants and cloud kitchens. The platform’s scalable and flexible operating system offers an omnichannel point-of-sale (POS) system that accepts orders from popular food aggregators, direct online channels, dine-in restaurants, and takeaway establishments. The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform delivers insights into demand forecasting, smart appliance optimization, dynamic order routing, customer profiling, and inventory management.
3. Tarabut
- Industry: Fintech, Financial Services
- Founders: Abdulla Almoayed
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Series A, $57 Million
- Investors Include: Tiger Global Management, Crescent Ventures, Pinnacle Capital
Tarabut is a fintech startup that provides an open banking infrastructure. Founded in 2017, Tarabut offers a platform that connects banks, fintechs, and other financial services providers through secure application programming interfaces (APIs). This enables the sharing of financial data and facilitates the development of innovative financial products and services. Tarabut's open banking solutions aim to drive financial inclusion, improve customer experiences, and foster collaboration within the financial ecosystem across the Middle East and North Africa region.
4. Bayzat
- Industry: HR Tech, Insurtech, Fintech
- Founders: Brian Habibi, Talal Bayaa, Tarek Bayaa
- Founded In: 2013
- Funding: Series C, $60 Million
- Investors Include: Bossanova Investimentos, Endeavor Catalyst, Tech Invest Com
Bayzat provides a cloud-based platform that helps companies automate and streamline their HR administration, payroll processing, and employee benefits management. Bayzat's software aims to simplify HR tasks, improve efficiency, and enhance the employee experience for businesses of various sizes across the Middle East and North Africa region.
5. Aleph Holding
- Industry: Marketing, Adtech
- Founders: Gaston Taratuta
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Corporate Round, $470 Million
- Investors Include: Snap, X (Formerly Twitter), CVC Capital Partners
Aleph Holding is a global digital media and advertising company that evolved from the company IMS. The company partners with leading digital platforms like Facebook, X, Snapchat, and LinkedIn to offer digital advertising solutions and services to brands and agencies across more than 130 markets worldwide. Aleph Holding helps its clients reach and engage with their target audiences through tailored digital advertising campaigns, leveraging data-driven insights and innovative ad technologies.
6. Pyypl
- Industry: Blockchain, Apps, Fintech
- Founders: Antti Arponen, Phil Reynolds
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Series B, $31 Million
- Investors Include: Hub71, Global Ventures
Pyypl is a blockchain startup that provides financial services and solutions aimed at promoting financial inclusion in emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. The startup leverages blockchain technology to offer a digital payment platform that enables users to securely store, send, and receive funds using their smartphones. By utilizing blockchain's decentralized and transparent nature, Pyypl aims to provide accessible, cost-effective, and efficient financial services to underbanked and unbanked populations, fostering economic growth and empowerment in the regions it serves.
7. Fasset
- Industry: Web3, Blockchain, Fintech
- Founders: Daniel Ahmed, Mohammad Raafi Hossain
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series A, $26.7 Million
- Investors Include: Primal Capital, Formus Capital, QPVentures
Fasset leverages blockchain technology to create a platform that enables the fractional ownership and trading of assets, such as infrastructure projects and renewable energy initiatives. By tokenizing these assets, Fasset aims to democratize access to investment opportunities, enhance liquidity, and promote sustainable development. The company's mission is to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the digital asset ecosystem while supporting the financing of projects that contribute to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.
8. Flare Network
- Industry: Blockchain, Web3
- Founders: Hugo Philion, Naïri Usher, Sean Rowan, Boris Horvat
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series Unknown, $46.3 Million
- Investors Include: Wave Digital Assets, Genesis Capital, CoinFund
Flare Network is developing a distributed network that leverages the Flare Consensus Protocol (FCP) and the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) to provide a secure, scalable, and efficient platform for building and executing smart contracts. Flare Network's main goal is to bridge the gap between various blockchains, such as Ethereum and XRP Ledger, allowing for seamless cross-chain communication and asset transfer.
9. Ziina
- Industry: Insurtech, Fintech
- Founders: Andrew Gold, Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: Series Unknown, $8.5 Million
- Investors Include: Flux Capital, FJ Labs, Wamda Capital
Ziina is a fintech startup that offers a peer-to-peer (P2P) payment application for users in the Middle East. Founded in 2020, Ziina aims to simplify and streamline money transfers between friends and family by providing a user-friendly mobile app that enables instant, secure, and fee-free transactions.
10. Cashew
- Industry: Ecommerce, Fintech
- Founders: Ammar Afif, Ibtissam Ouassif
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Corporate Round, $107 Million
- Investors Include: Mashreq Bank, Al Hassan Ghazi Ibrahim Shaker Co.
Cashew is an ecommerce startup that provides a platform for retailers and consumers to engage in buy now, pay later (BNPL) transactions. Cashew's mission is to make online shopping more accessible and affordable for consumers in the Middle East by offering flexible, interest-free payment plans. The company partners with various online merchants, enabling customers to split their purchases into multiple installments without the need for a credit card. Cashew's platform aims to enhance the online shopping experience while promoting responsible spending habits and financial inclusion in the region.
