Revealed: UAE's top 10 fastest-growing startups this year

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah are among the top 10 startup ecosystems in the region

Waheed Abbas

Published: Wed 25 Sep 2024, 10:15 AM

Last updated: Wed 25 Sep 2024, 9:34 PM

Astra Tech, Qashio and Grubtech have been listed as top UAE startups that witnessed strong employment growth, strong applicant interest, and the ability to attract top talent.

According to LinkedIn’s annual Top Startups List for 2024, the other companies that made it to the top 10 list were Prypco, The Giving Movement, GluCare.Health, Huspy, Cafu, Stake and Qlub.

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The list is compiled by measuring and analysing metrics across four pillars: employment growth, engagement with the company and its current employees, job interest, and attraction of top talent.

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According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2024, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah are among the top 10 startup ecosystems in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Among the top-rated startups, Astra Tech is a consumer technology firm, Qashio helps manage expenses, and Grubtech provides solutions for restaurants and food businesses.

Dubai scored 10 out of 10 in funding, measuring innovation through early-stage funding and investor activity. It has five unicorns, one of 19 emerging ecosystems with four or more unicorns in the last 10 years.

“This year’s list highlights the startups that are leveraging the UAE’s steady economic expansion and population increase to provide services and platforms that consumers and businesses appreciate. The startups featured on this list have shown employment growth, high job candidate interest and are attracting the top talent in the UAE,” said Nabila Rahal, Mena News Editor at LinkedIn.

It covered companies that were fully independent, privately held, have 30 or more full-time employees, 7 years old or younger and headquartered in the country. It excluded all staffing firms, think tanks, venture capital firms, law firms, management and IT consulting firms, nonprofits and philanthropy, accelerators and government-owned entities.

Startups who have laid off 10 per cent or more of their workforce based on corporate announcements or public, reliable sources between July 1, 2023 and the list launch, were also not eligible. These decisions were made based on company statements and/or reputable news outlets.

Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi launched an interest-free, long-term loan scheme ranging from Dh150,000 to Dh3 million for licensed Emirati start-ups in priority sectors to support young entrepreneurs.

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