Building MENA's cities of the future

Back in the mid-2000s, reports claimed Dubai housed a quarter of the world’s 125,000 cranes.

In reality, it was no more than 2%, but the sentiment was clear — the pace of construction in the emirate was remarkable.

Over the next decade, the UAE's rapid development, set against the backdrop of the 2008 global financial crisis and the Arab Spring, transformed both its landscape and society.

This morning, as I look out my window in Abu Dhabi, I see cranes stretched into the sky, assembling the next piece of a concrete jungle jigsaw that less than 20 years ago, was just a vast desert.

But, the UAE’s construction boom is no longer unique in the region.

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia’s bold and ambitious giga-projects like The Line in NEOM, Trojena, and Jeddah Tower have captured global attention as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify beyond oil.

Other nations are following suit:

🇪🇬 Egypt’s New Administrative Capital is taking shape east of Cairo, and a $35 billion deal with the UAE aims to develop the Ras al-Hekma peninsula along the Mediterranean.

🇶🇦 Qatar spent over $220 billion on infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.

🇮🇶 Iraq has launched the $17 billion Development Road project to link it to Türkiye, transforming the region into a logistics hub.

🇴🇲 Oman’s Sultan Haitham City offers a more modest but equally important vision of a livable, sustainable city, breaking from the “Dubai archetype.”

As the region's resource-dependent economies accelerate diversification, construction is central to these efforts.

👷‍♂️ State of play

In this context, 2024 has emerged as a breakout year for the MENA region’s contech ecosystem.

In the first half alone, $38.6 million was raised across four deals, compared to just $3.3 million raised across eight deals in all of 2023.

That’s a 1069.7% increase year-on-year.

1️⃣ Why the slow adoption of innovation?

🔮 Outlook

Deal flow is improving, with funding totals seeing a sharp rise.

Saudi’s Wakecap is expanding into the U.S. after acquiring a Silicon Valley startup, while Tenderd, the YC-backed UAE startup, has raised $30 million in Series A and is eyeing international markets. BRKZ, meanwhile, is scaling fast, aiming to capture more of the regional market.

Investor interest is unmistakably there.

Wa’ed Ventures, for example, co-led a $52 million Series B in US-based Mighty Buildings, paving the way for manufacturing operations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Yet, the challenge remains: the region lacks a deep pipeline of startups ready to absorb this capital.

This is why the emergence of contech-focused accelerators is so critical.

The Flat6Labs "Makers" ConTech Accelerator, the region’s first construction-focused accelerator, offers startups up to $100,000 in funding, pilot project access, and mentorship. Initially focused on Egypt, the program hopes to expand to Saudi Arabia and MENA in the near future.

Similarly, Startup Wise Guys launched a Construction Tech Accelerator in Saudi Arabia, backed by SEEDRA Ventures and the National Technology Development Program (NTDP), providing startups with funding, mentorship, and market access.

Looking ahead, the success of these programs will depend on more than just funding.

Startups will need to navigate regulatory challenges, scale across fragmented local markets, and incorporate advanced tech like AI, robotics, and 3D printing to truly disrupt the industry.

Do we have the requisite talent to achieve that? Yes, I believe we do.

As we’ve seen in other sectors, early success stories inspire the next generation of founders.

We have a foundation, now it’s time to build.

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