The UAE's northern emirate of Sharjah was ranked at the top spot in a list of high-growth activation phase start-up ecosystems globally, according to a new report.
According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report, launched by policy advisory and research organisation Startup Genome, an activation phase ecosystem is characterised as having 1,000 or fewer start-ups.
The report says an activation phase ecosystem's objective is to pick start-up subsectors "that build on local economic strengths and develop focused programmes to accelerate ecosystem growth and develop pockets of success leading to sizeable exits".
Sharjah also ranked among the top 20 in Africa and the Middle East for “Bang for Buck” and among the top 30 in the region for having affordable talent.
"We look forward to further advancing Sharjah's reputation as a vibrant start-up hub - one that is home to high-impact ventures that contribute to our communities and the growth of our economy," Najla Al Midfa, chief executive of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa), said.
Dubai ranked 18th in the world's top 100 emerging start-up ecosystems, according to the report.
The global start-up economy remains large, creating nearly $3 trillion (Dh11tn) in value, a figure on par with the gross domestic product of a G7 economy, according to Startup Genome.
The Covid-19 pandemic poses several challenges to global start-ups, including rampant layoffs and the "double whammy" of a drop in consumer demand coupled with waning venture capital investments, leading to a capital crunch.
"While we see early signs of a rebound in Asian ecosystems — nothing like a return to normal, but a slowdown of the drop — the start-up economy is going through a major transition," Startup Genome said.
Globally, the report ranked Silicon Valley as the world's top global start-up ecosystem in 2020, followed by New York in a tie with London, while Beijing and Boston rounded up the top five.
Honeymoonish
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
MATCH INFO
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MEFCC information
Tickets range from Dh110 for an advance single-day pass to Dh300 for a weekend pass at the door. VIP tickets have sold out. Visit www.mefcc.com to purchase tickets in advance.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
ELECTION%20RESULTS
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
