Digitisation, or digital transformation, is changing everything. In the public and private sectors, as well as among multinationals and individual entrepreneurs, it is impacting how businesses operate, the types of businesses launched and the functioning of government.
The UAE has been ahead of the game in this area, with the government spurring its digital transformation journey back in 2001, and the years that followed seeing the introduction of Vision 2021 and the UAE Digital Government. And while the government itself underwent transformation, it simultaneously established the necessary infrastructure to empower businesses to do the same.
Currently, the UAE Digital Transformation Market size is estimated at US $1.57 billion and is expected to reach US $3.29 billion by 2030. This growth has been accelerated by public-sector funding, the expansion of data centres, 5G rollouts and the need for ESG reporting. These have all pushed the UAE digital transformation journey forward, according to Mordor Intelligence.
So, it has become one of the defining forces of our age. Entire industries have been re-shaped, consumer expectations have changed and the door has opened to new founders. That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges related to cybersecurity threats, data privacy, and the sheer pace of technological change. But at the same time, it has the potential to level the playing field, especially given that entrepreneurs now have almost equal access to the necessary digital tools and infrastructure.
Digitisation is more than a set of tools, it is shaping the fundamental mindset of entrepreneurs and the way businesses are established — while simultaneously demanding a stronger focus on cybersecurity, data privacy and the protection of digital assets in an increasingly connected landscape.
Digital-first ideas that have lit up the GCC
The list here is extensive, but let’s start with a few examples of how digital-first thinking can lead to startup success.
The most successful entrepreneurs start by isolating a problem, then examining how technology might help resolve it in a way that can be commercialised. Saudi fintech unicorn Tamara understood this well, starting a company that allowed purchases to be split into instalments with partner merchants. It understood deeply regional concerns around paying interest while understanding that sometimes purchases simply can’t be made in one go. The company recently secured a sharia-compliant asset-backed facility of up to US $2.4 billion, marking one of the largest financing deals of its kind in the Middle East.
Then there is the legendary UAE-based Careem. This company began by offering a ride-hailing solution in Dubai and later evolved into a region-wide super app providing food delivery, digital payments and micro-mobility services. It was famously acquired by Uber in 2019 for US $3.1 billion.
And let’s not forget about the Middle East’s first foodtech unicorn: UAE-based Kitopi. As a cloud kitchen platform, it was founded in Dubai in 2018 and would later raise over US $800 million.
Transport, fintech and foodtech are three very different worlds, but their founders looked at how technology could disrupt an industry by solving a problem in an original way, and ensuring it was a solution that could leverage that technology to scale, while ensuring companies were protected from digital threats.
The digitisation of business models
Entrepreneurs are increasingly using digitisation to reinvent how their businesses generate revenue. This includes subscription models – SaaS has become one of the most popular digital business models, with startups like Slack and Zoom able to scale rapidly by offering cloud-based services. In other cases, it’s reimagining an existing business model – for example, Netflix pivoted on its original DVD rental service, transforming into a digital business and becoming one of the most powerful global brands in the process.
In this way, many traditional industries are being reshaped, with farming now utilising agritech platforms that can track crop yields in real-time, fitness trainers offering virtual training sessions through apps and much more. What these entrepreneurs have done is digitise a core element of their business and, in the process, make themselves more resilient and scalable.
Digitisation that improves the customer relationship
One of the key changes digitisation has brought in is putting data at the centre and removing the level of guesswork that used to be involved in decision-making.
Analytics tools enable entrepreneurs to better understand their markets and track performance. Even a basic tool like Google Analytics or a customer relationship management (CRM) platform will allow founders to understand a huge amount about their customers, track their behaviour and then refine their marketing strategies accordingly. The result is giving customers what they want, while building loyalty and trust in the process.
Scaling at digital speed
The rise of big data also means entrepreneurs can validate ideas faster, getting their business moving more quickly and then scale. In the past, expansion often meant building new factories or opening more branches. Often, success involved hiring many new employees. Today, digital platforms allow businesses to scale without the proportional increases in physical infrastructure or staff.
For entrepreneurs, this means thinking globally from the start, because even a niche product has the potential to find an audience worldwide. Meanwhile, payment gateways remove barriers to international transactions, and digital marketing enables even small ventures to compete with their larger competitors.
Access to everything is easier
Another area that has been shaped by digitisation is the availability of and access to resources that were previously only accessible to large corporations. Cloud computing has enabled entrepreneurs to access enterprise-level storage and computing power at affordable costs. There’s no need to invest in costly servers when platforms like AWS and Azure enable businesses to deploy applications with ease.
Access to funding has also changed. Crowdfunding platforms have enabled entrepreneurs to raise capital directly from their future customers. However, more than that, digital banking solutions and fintech services have given startups better control over cash flow, tailored to the challenges faced by new and small businesses.
It’s also important to understand how education has been transformed. Today, there are world-class training platforms where knowledge that once required expensive business schools is available to everyone on demand. Entrepreneurs can sharpen their skills while they are building their companies, rather than having to stop what they are doing and study full-time.
The future of digitised entrepreneurship
As we have seen, digitisation has transformed entrepreneurship from the ground up. While it has changed business models and accelerated how fast a company can grow, perhaps most importantly, it has changed the founder mindset. The entrepreneur of today knows that digital tools enable them to access global markets, use data to make better decisions, and scale at speed.
This change is only going to accelerate as entrepreneurs employ new technologies and bake them into their companies from the outset. It opens up an even wider, more exciting world for the individual who has a great idea and wants to see it come to life.
