Dubai Next, the first official crowdfunding platform in the emirate launched last month by Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (pictured below), has scored its first successes.
The initiative has enabled an Emirati entrepreneur to raise the capital required to launch his start-up, named Padel 26 after raising AED100,000.
The rest of the capital was financed by The Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund, a statement said.
Dubai Next has so far seen 543 campaigns submitted on the platform since its launch, and 44 of them have gone live.
The projects involve innovative ideas in diverse industry sectors, such as business, food, technology, education, design, film & video, gaming, health, and arts.
Total funding requested so far has exceeded AED27.7 million and the projects have received 72 contributions from 58 supporters.
Dubai Next aims to allow entrepreneurs to create campaigns online to seek funds for turning their ideas into reality. The not-for-profit crowdfunding platform operated by Dubai SME, the agency of Dubai Economy mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, is open to all nationalities and age groups in the UAE.
The Padel 26 project involves four indoor doubles courts of Padel, a sport that requires less space than the normal tennis court.
Crowdfunding involves small amounts sourced towards capital financing of a single commercial venture. The method provides access to a large segment of the society for funding and facilitates financing amongst entrepreneurs and their family as well as friends.
Anyone with an innovative idea or project, whether an individual or a company, can create campaigns on Dubai Next. Any business idea, except for activities that require to be shari’a compliant, are eligible for funding on the platform. The location of the business should be in Dubai.
Abdul Baset Al Janahi (pictured below), CEO of Dubai SME, said: “Contributors may have many reasons to support a campaign. Either they may be inspired by the project or the expected reward, or want to support a friend or family member. Whatever be the reason, people have the opportunity to contribute towards bringing a novel idea to life. Contributing to a campaign doesn’t help the campaign owner or the contributor only, but it eventually supports Dubai’s economy too.”
Vemudra, an innovative initiative by two 16-year-olds to create an institute aggregator website that helps students to develop extracurricular talents, has also been able to raise 100 percent of the funds it required on Dubai Next.
“We encourage students of all age groups too, especially graduates who seek funding for their graduation projects, to use Dubai Next as an opportunity to turn their ideas into reality,” said Al Janahi.
Facilitating access to financing for start-ups is a major focus of entrepreneurship development strategies in Dubai and across the UAE.
Conventional lenders still have their concerns on providing start-up funding.
Dubai SME said it has been co-ordinating policies and initiatives, both government-level and collaboratively with the private sector, to bridge this gap through encouraging startups to adopt corporate governance practices, and simultaneously unlocking innovative funding options.
Small and medium enterprises make up nearly 95 percent of all companies in Dubai, employ 42 percent of the workforce and contribute around 40 percent to the GDP in the emirate.
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