Expand North Star 2013 platform for fostering growth of startups
- 18 Oct 2023
Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, on Wednesday toured Expand North Star 2023, the world’s largest exhibition and conference for startups organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
The event, which concluded on Wednesday at the Dubai Harbour, was hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy (DCDE), one of three chambers operating under the umbrella of the Dubai Chamber.
Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Mansoor said that Dubai’s robust growth across the digital economy, aligns with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to enhance the sector’s contribution to Dubai’s economy and strengthen the city’s position as a global innovation leader, in line with the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33.
Sheikh Mansoor highlighted the event’s significance as a platform for fostering the growth of startups and forging new partnerships between the private and public sectors, as well as investors.
During his tour, Sheikh Mansoor was accompanied by Ahmed bin Byat, Vice Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy; Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers; Saeed Al Gergawi, Vice President of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy; and Abdul Basit Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME.
Sheikh Mansoor was briefed by Saeed Al Gergawi about the event, which aims to support Dubai’s efforts in transforming into one of the most digitally flexible, diverse, and technologically advanced centres in the world.
Sheikh Mansoor visited the French and Japanese pavilions, as well as the Italian pavilion, which featured 22 companies.
He also stopped by the pavilions of Binance, Mastercard, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), and VARA, where he was briefed on the latest cutting-edge innovations and digital services on display.
Expand North Star 2023 drew participation from over 1,800 startups representing more than 100 countries and welcomed over 1,000 investors.
Fintech Surge 2023, the global gathering for the entire fintech ecosystem, hosted its final day today at its new location, the iconic Dubai Harbour. The event has welcomed thousands of people across the fintech ecosystem over the past four days.
The final day set the stage for the future of retail and digital payments. One of the sessions focused on ‘The Shift From Speculation to Web3 Utility - Spotlighting Payments, FX & Aid’. Miriam Kiwan, Vice President of Middle East and Africa at Circle, highlighted how her company is expanding its presence in the region including within the UAE. She explained why reducing costs of cross border payments is very important as more than 1.7 billion people are under banked globally.
Miriam added that there is a vital need for companies like Circle to provide an alternative to the traditional payments system. She commented: “People are paying very high remittance fees, between 6 to 8%. Using stable coins like USDC can reduce transaction fees. KSA and the UAE represent some of the largest outbound remittances in the world and the Middle East and Africa region is one of the largest crypto corridors internationally. That is why this region needs more expansion in this area.”
As part of its SEM Elevate programme, Fintech Surge has also served as a dynamic launch pad for global start-ups, addressing funding and digital financial literacy challenges for SMEs. Prof. Richard Werner, Chairman of Valhalla Network, gave a keynote on the Future of Retail, AI & Paytech. His talk explained how banks are not just financial intermediaries but have greater roles now across the financial sectors than ever before. Werner outlined the reasons why Germany, for example, has more than ten times as many banks engaged in SME lending than the UK, higher than any number in Europe. The higher the lending for SMEs, the better it is for retail, e-commerce and fintech to grow and prosper.
COO of SingularityNET, Janet Adams, introduced a daring mission to shape the future through Generative AI, exploring the rise of Neural Symbolic LLMs in an ever-evolving AI landscape. She explained how the Middle East is significantly contributing to this journey, while highlighting the need to ensure the ethical use of powerful technologies, reduce inequalities, and pave the path to a positive AI era.
More than 100 exhibitors, 160 speakers and 1,000 investors have attended the premier hub for the global fintech ecosystem, bringing together fintech entrepreneurs, buyers, innovators, investors, and regulators.
ustainability is a central theme across Expand North Star as the UAE builds on the momentum of COP28. In association with GITEX Impact, Expand North Star is hosting the Global Investment Forum and the NetZero Venture Capital Forum at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The events will help catalyze growth in ESG funding, with investors expected to inject $1.5-2 trillion annually into climate tech and cleantech startups by 2025.