Expand North Star 2023: Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy Launches Innovative Startup Showcases for Business-Investor Connectivity

15 Oct, 2023

Expand North Star 2023: Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy Launches Innovative Startup Showcases for Business-Investor Connectivity

The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, a prominent entity within Dubai Chambers, has unveiled the exciting new features debuting at Expand North Star 2023. This major event, scheduled from October 15th to 18th, 2023, at Dubai Harbour, is poised to connect some of the world's most sought-after startups with innovators, investors, entrepreneurs, and the founders of global success stories.

Among the new showcases, "India Central" takes the spotlight as the largest exhibition of Indian startups outside India, a country boasting over 90,000 startups and more than 100 unicorn companies. Approximately 300 Indian startups, alongside state ministers, unicorn founders, and leading venture capitalists, are expected to participate. This platform features a dedicated conference, shedding light on the Indian tech ecosystem, its regulatory framework, and emerging investment prospects.

"Asia Fast 100" and "Africa Fast 100" are set to bring together 100 of the most promising startups from each respective continent. Southeast Asia's tech startups are predicted to reach a combined value of US$1 trillion by 2025, a substantial leap from the US$340 billion recorded in 2020. Meanwhile, 633 African startups raised a cumulative US$3.3 billion in 2022, representing a remarkable annual funding increase of over 1,000 percent since 2015.

The "Asia Fast 100" and "Africa Fast 100" showcases follow extensive four-month promotional campaigns and a series of networking events that connected ten major hubs on both continents. These programs stand as the largest showcases for the Asian and African startup communities outside their native regions. They will feature a busy schedule of conferences, networking opportunities, and dedicated pitch competitions.

Additional noteworthy initiatives include "AI Monday," featuring over 250 fast-scaling AI startups; the "CTO World Congress," providing profound insights from the world's leading tech architects and data scientists; and "AngelOn Sunday, a lineup of distinctive workshops, featuring a guided tour designed to foster connections between startups and angel investors.

These exciting initiatives reflect the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy's dedication to strengthening economic ties with the Asian and African markets, particularly in the realms of technology and digital transformation. The chamber's goal is to introduce entrepreneurs and ambitious startups to Dubai's digital ecosystem, facilitate their expansion into the emirate, and grant access to the resources they need to flourish. "Expand North Star" is set to support Dubai's transformation into one of the world's leading digital economies, aligning with the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).

The digital economy has been established as a key pillar of the D33 agenda, aiming to generate an annual economic contribution of AED 100 billion from digital transformation projects. "Expand North Star" aims to support this goal by fostering the growth of 30 startups into unicorns—privately held startups valued at US$1 billion or more—by 2033.

This event is poised to host over 1,800 startup exhibitors from more than 100 countries, drawing the participation of more than 1,000 investors with a combined total of over US$1 trillion under management. Dubai is rapidly emerging as a leading hub in the global digital economy, and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy is actively pursuing the attraction of 300 digital startups to Dubai by 2024 as part of its commitment to advancing the emirate's digital economy and realizing the ambitions outlined in the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).