The United Arab Emirates has consistently been ranked as a country in the top 20 on the IMD’s Digital Competitiveness Rankings for the past five years.
In 2021, the UAE broke into the Top 10 list, though it slipped a few places to 13th in 2022.
The UAE, alongside South Korea and China, have been the overall top gainers in the World Digital Competitiveness rankings in 2021, highlighting the UAE’s commitment to continuous improvement and development of its knowledge intensive economy that is able to explore, adopt and produce digital technologies at scale.
Dubai’s Digital Economy and Its Expanding Startup Ecosystem
Dubai’s startup ecosystem will have raised over USD 2 billion by the end of 2022, with self-employed and digital economy roles tripling. Few MENA markets have a 20-year-old startup ecosystem birthing multiple unicorns. Dubai has been the digital startup hub for tech giants and new unicorns alike. Since 2017, Dubai has raised 96% of UAE’s funds, totaling over USD 2 billion by October 2022. LinkedIn data shows a booming digital economy job market with increasing opportunities and remote work options. Learn from top home-grown startups and global transplants why Dubai is poised to become the next digital economy capital of the world.