For too long, the global start-up narrative has been dominated by chasing unicorns – companies valued at over a billion dollars. They make headlines, attract global investors and feed national pride. But beneath the shine, this unicorn model has misfired in Middle East and African markets.
Built for Silicon Valley, the idea of unicorns depends on conditions these regions, for the most part, simply do not yet have in full: deep pools of patient venture capital, robust secondary markets, predictable local exits and a pipeline of acquirers able to justify billion-dollar takeovers.
Over the past 10 years, Africa produced a handful of unicorns, including Flutterwave, OPay, Wave, Chipper Cash, Andela, Jumia and Moniepoint. The Middle East minted a similar number, from Careem and Kitopi to SWVL and fintech stars such as Tabby, Tamara and Yalla.
But how many still hold unicorn status? Not all, and many actually offer cautionary tales. Jumia peaked at around $3 billion post-IPO in 2019. By late 2020 it was trading at around $250 million – a 90 per cent collapse in value. SWVL listed via a special-purpose acquisition company (Spac) at $1.5 billion in 2022. Within months its market cap fell 96 per cent to under $60 million. Flutterwave reached a $3 billion valuation but faced regulatory scrutiny and profitability struggles. More importantly, these firms soaked up large venture liquidity that smaller, more resilient companies badly needed.
The fundraising data tells a story that compounds this challenge. Africa raised a record $5.2 billion in venture capital in 2021, but just 16 “super-sized” deals consumed $2.6 billion – half of all the capital raised – out of 604 transactions. The Mena region followed the same pattern: mega-rounds for a handful of platforms, while thousands of SMEs struggled for basic working capital.
Now if we use the real value-creation lens, as defined by economic activity, and inclusive growth, we find that the imbalance is stark. Across Africa and the Middle East, more than 90 per cent of businesses are SMEs. They account for 60 to 80 per cent of employment. In Nigeria, SMEs represent 96 per cent of registered companies and 84 per cent of jobs. In the UAE, SMEs contribute more than 50 per cent of GDP. Yet, they receive less than 10 per cent of venture funding.
Unicorns will not take the Middle East and Africa from zero to a hundred, as most of them are regional replicas of global models. Nor will they create the millions of jobs needed in a region where youth unemployment in most countries hits double digits.
Unicorns will not take the Middle East and Africa from zero to a hundred, as most of them are regional replicas of global models
The alternative is not speculative – it is visible in our real economies every day: resilient, revenue-first “camel” companies. Camels are not glamorous, but they are durable. They don’t burn cash chasing valuations; they build steady revenues, create jobs, endure shocks and prioritise profitability.
In this context, a camel company is one that reliably generates $5 million to $10 million in annual revenues, in a sector that meets real and recurring demand. Think of an education provider rolling out affordable online courses across Africa; a mid-sized healthcare network expanding clinics across the GCC; or a food-processing firm supplying both local and export markets. These firms are not chasing headlines. They are building payrolls, re-investing profits and compounding value year after year.
It is time we rethink how we mobilise and incentivise SME funding and venture capital. Hype must move out; fundamentals must move in. This need is compounded when we note that venture funding has already contracted in Africa from $6.4 billion in 2022 to around $2.2 billion in 2024. And in the Middle East, major Gulf investors have shifted focus toward infrastructure and sovereign priorities.
With this shrinking funding pool, founders are being asked to do more with less. For camel companies, this is not a constraint – it is their competitive edge. They have always optimised scarce resources, leaned on revenue before valuation and treated endurance as strategy. Unicorns can, and will, still emerge – but they should be progressions of success, not the model we design ecosystems around.
This shift also means leaning towards sectors that matter for people’s lives – agrifood, education and health care. These are the engines of employment, productivity and prosperity.
In this new context, capital itself needs rethinking too. It is not enough to have big pools of venture money chasing the next “hot” app. What we lack is capital plumbing: predictable, reliable mechanisms that give founders and employees liquidity without waiting a decade for an IPO that may never come. Local-currency credit lines, revenue-based financing, sovereign-backed blended funds and regulated secondary markets are the pipes that will keep capital flowing rather than just trickling into mega-rounds that serve a handful of firms. Governments should tilt incentives toward companies that create jobs and embed resilience.
The Middle East and Africa do not need to mimic Silicon Valley. They need to embrace their own metaphor: the camel. Durable, disciplined, adapted to scarcity. In that lies not just survival, but sovereignty. Scattered signals are not enough. The future requires structure – dedicated, sovereign-backed camel funds that can take a long-horizon view and back the kinds of companies that will still be standing in 10 or 20 years.
The camel model is not Plan B. It is the only plan that makes sense for our region.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
AUSTRALIA%20SQUAD
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Company%20profile
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UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Revival
Eminem
Interscope
Results:
6.30pm: Maiden | US$45,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres
Winner: Tabarak, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap | $175,000 (Turf) | 3,200m
Winner: Dubhe, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Estihdaaf, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
8.15pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Nordic Lights, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 2 | $450,000 (D) | 1,900m
Winner: North America, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
9.25pm: Handicap | $175,000 (T) | 1,200m
Winner: Mazzini, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
10pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,400m.
Winner: Mubtasim, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Itcan profile
Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani
Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India
Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce
Size: 70 employees
Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch
Funding: Self-funded to date
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New schools in Dubai
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Brahmastra%3A%20Part%20One%20-%20Shiva
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAyan%20Mukerji%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERanbir%20Kapoor%2C%20Alia%20Bhatt%20and%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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