Right from the start, Michael Milken showed why the conference bears his name as he opened the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit on Thursday in Abu Dhabi.

Drawing from his wide range of contacts, the Wall Street legend probed princes, investors and CEOs on “Navigating a Changing Global Economy” in the grand ballroom at Abu Dhabi’s St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.

Milken focused on the region’s galloping pace of growth, citing reports that “the wealth of the Middle East and Africa has reached 67% of the wealth of the Americas.” The dramatic change that has occurred in the last two decades, he said, shows “the importance of the Middle East as a provider of capital to the world.”

The billionaire financial guru will also wrap up the conference during its final session on Friday when Milken interviews Khaldoon Al Mubarak, CEO and Managing Director of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund and a member of Abu Dhabi’s Executive Council.

Just before the opening bell, it was announced that Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, woulld drop by Saadiyat Island for a 20-minute conversation focusing on women’s health care, one of her main initiatives in the White House.

Investment bankers, hedge fund managers and bond traders always form the core of Milken summits. Among those taking part in the Abu Dhabi edition are Guggenheim Partners’ Alan Schwartz, Golub Capital’s Lawrence Golub, Goldman Sachs’ Stephanie Rader, Eldridge Industries’ Todd Boelhy, TCW’s Katie Koch and Brightstar Capital’s Andrew Weinberg.

Responding to Milken in the opening session, Mohamed Mansour, the Egyptian founder and Chairman of London-based Man Capital, said education and jobs are the central need in the region.

“We are facing the biggest change since the 19th century,” he said. “We had the industrial revolution and now we have AI. What assets do we have? The youth. So we have to foster that change and give people a chance.” 

Prince Turki Al Faisal, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies and a former ambassador to the U.S., added: “More and more education is what we need in our part of the world. There is just too much destruction… and our world community must come together to stop the fighting.”

Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of State for African Affairs, said that the UAE is built on partnership with less developed parts of the world and is working to bring other countries into its orbit. “When we go in Africa, we do not have a checkout date,” he said, adding, “We would love to go to space with Africa.”

Also at the Summit was a touch of Hollywood in the person of actor Edward Norton, who spoke about “The Art of Storytelling,” accompanied by Elie Saab Jr., CEO of Lebanese couture house Elie Saab.

Dubai developer Hussain Sajwani sees AI gold in Southeast Asia.

The Emirati billionaire’s Damac Group plans to invest about $3 billion through its Edgenex subsidiary to build data centers across Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand over the next three to five years, Bloomberg reports.

Damac, which focuses primarily on Dubai real estate, has been diversifying into a variety of industries from tech to fashion.

Edgenex, which already operates two data centers in Saudi Arabia, plans to build the digital infrastructure in its new Asian facilities that can house the high-end servers essential for providing artificial intelligence services.

From Riyadh to AlUla, French President Emmanuel Macron is trying to carve out a bigger role for his country as a partner in Saudi Arabia’s economic overhaul.

Following talks in the Saudi capital with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and an array of government officials and corporate executives, Macron was scheduled to meet Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for dinner on Wednesday in the ancient desert city.

“We want to partner with you, meaning we want to create jobs here,” Macron told a Saudi-French business forum on Tuesday. “We want to be a partner of your vision and the vision of the Crown Prince for 2030.”

The two countries have signed a flurry of business deals during Macron’s visit, including contracts for the construction of three solar parks by French companies TotalEnergies and EDF Renewables in tandem with China’s SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development Co.

Saudi Arabia is inviting the world to invest in its sprawling trillion-dollar NEOM megaproject and advising potential backers to ignore the recent bumps along the road.

“The flywheel is starting and it will gain speed as we go forward, as some of the foundational assets come to the market,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih told Reuters this week on the sidelines of the World Investment Conference in Riyadh.

The development in western Saudi Arabia – which features a 100-mile long vertical city, ski slopes and beach resorts – is the centerpiece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan to overhaul the economy and wean it off dependence on the kingdom’s vast oil revenues. The Public Investment Fund, which owns NEOM, announced that the project’s longtime CEO stepped down this month while it has had to delay some of the project’s target completion dates.

Al-Falih says to be patient. “NEOM was not meant to be a two-year investable opportunity,” he told the news agency. “If anybody expected NEOM to be a foreign investment in two, three or five years, then they have gotten (it) wrong – it’s a generational investment.”

Asked if most of the spending on NEOM will continue to come from the PIF, Al-Falih said funds from abroad are expected to increase.

“I think foreign investors are starting to come to NEOM – they’re starting to channel capital,” he said. “Some of the projects that the PIF will be doing will be financed through global capital pools, through some alternative and private capital. That’s taking place as we speak.”

Morocco, which has banned cryptocurrencies since 2017, is preparing a law to allow their use, Central Bank Governor Abdellatif Jouahri said.

“Like many countries around the world, we are exploring to what extent this new form of currency could contribute to achieving certain public policy objectives, particularly in terms of financial inclusion,” Jouahri said Tuesday at the Regional High-Level Symposium on Financial Stability in Rabat.

Bank Al Maghrib, as the Central Bank is known, is also exploring the possibility of issuing its own digital currency, he said.

Moroccan law forbids cryptocurrencies, but their broad use is well-known as citizens find ways to bypass the restrictions. 

The Gulf has emerged as a dynamic hub for startups, attracting global attention with its investments, government-backed initiatives and an increasing number of venture capital funds. 

Here’s a glance at the region’s early-stage startup ecosystem, highlighting its growth over the past decade and the supportive frameworks fueling entrepreneurial growth.

In 2023, early-stage funding across pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds surpassed $500 million across the region, a 12-fold increase from 10 years ago. Overall, VC funding in the Gulf rose in 2023 – despite a global decline – with Saudi Arabia overtaking the UAE as the region’s top recipient of VC investments.

Historically, the UAE and Saudi Arabia dominate these investments, with the UAE’s fintech and healthtech startups leading recipients of VC funds. Alma Health’s $10 million Series A exemplifies the momentum, alongside seed success stories like Ejari closing a $14.7 million seed round in October.  

The region now boasts around 60 to 80 active VC funds, including heavyweights like Mubadala Ventures in the UAE and STV in Saudi Arabia. Qatar and Oman are also fostering growth with targeted initiatives such as Qatar’s QBIC and Oman’s Innovation Hub.

Notable Exits and Milestones

Growth opportunities and the burgeoning vigor of the ecosystem can be traced through the increasing number of milestone moments for homegrown startups. 

Careem: Acquired by Uber for $3.1 billion in 2019, becoming a benchmark for regional unicorns.

Souq.com: Amazon’s $580 million acquisition of this e-commerce giant was pivotal in connecting global investors with the region.

Jahez: The Saudi food delivery app made headlines with its $2.4 billion IPO in 2021.

Floward: online flower and gift delivery platform, raised $156 million in a 2023 pre-IPO Series C round led by Aljazira Capital, Rainwater Partners, and STV marking the largest deal in Kuwait in 5-years. 

Government-Backed Initiatives

The GCC owes much of its startup boom to forward-thinking government initiatives. These programs combine entrepreneurship training with access to resources, capital, and world-class expertise among other benefits for founders 

Each country has unique offerings and accelerator programs. Here is a brief list of some of the programs 

Hub71 in Abu Dhabi is a cornerstone of the UAE’s Ghadan 21 program. The technology park provides startups with office space, visa assistance, access to investors, and industry-specific accelerator programming making it a magnet for global tech talent​.  

Dubai Silicon Oasis: This Free Trade Zone supports digital transformation startups, offering 100% foreign ownership and tax incentives​. It also hosts the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus which is home to over a thousand startups from 90 countries.

Public Investment Fund: Saudi Arabia’s PIF, through programs like Aramco’s Wa’ed Ventures – supports the government’s Vision 2030 goals by investing heavily in accelerators and incubators​ and fostering technological innovation.

University-Led Programs:

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Saudi Arabia): Known for fostering sustainability-focused ventures.

Khalifa University (UAE): Offers seed funding and mentorship via its innovation center.

Qatar University: Promotes entrepreneurial activity through workshops and funding.

Sultan Qaboos University (Oman): Aligns its programs with the Omani government’s Vision 2040 program to emphasize sustainable development​.

These initiatives combine regulatory easing, financial incentives and innovation hubs to nurture startups. Governments are aggressively rolling out startup visas to attract talent, with the UAE leading the way through its “Golden Visa” program. Saudi Arabia’s Entrepreneurship License simplifies startup formation, further demonstrating the region’s commitment to economic diversification.

Despite remarkable growth, the GCC faces the same challenges as other developing ecosystems. Though there have been overall increases in early-stage VC funds, there is still limited access to growth capital in the region and cross-border expansion can be logistically complicated for startups.

Saudi Arabia’s drive to establish itself as a Middle East hub for international business while shifting its economy from dependence on oil is making progress, according to Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih.

Speaking at the World Investment Conference in Riyadh on Monday, Al-Falih said more than 550 firms have established regional headquarters in the kingdom, making reference to announcements last week by Citibank and Morgan Stanley on their expanded Saudi offices.

Saudi Arabia introduced a policy this year requiring foreign firms to set up regional hubs in the kingdom as a prerequisite to winning government contracts. Compliance comes with perks, including a 30-year exemption from corporate income tax and access to discounts and support services.

Al-Falih, who is trying to coax more countries to put their money in Saudi Arabia, opened the conference by reporting that foreign direct investment has tripled since 2016, when the kingdom introduced its Vision 2030 economic overhaul plan.

“We are confronted with crosswinds to global investments – driven forward on one hand by the tech revolution, booming stock markets, and the onset of promising monetary policies, while constrained on the other hand by geopolitical instabilities, trade barriers, and talent and skill shortages,” Al-Falih said.

Saudi leaders are amplifying their message that foreign investment is a two-way street.

As the kingdom’s 27th World Investment Conference kicks off today in Riyadh, Cabinet ministers and other top officials are letting other nations know that putting money into the Saudi economy would be especially appreciated after decades of their being on the receiving end.

In a warm-up statement before the conference, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih said: “We look forward to welcoming investment leaders from around the world to forge partnerships that will benefit both the kingdom and global economies.”

Saudi Arabia’s inflows of foreign direct investment barely rose in the first half of the year from the same period in 2023, contributing to delays in the target dates for several projects that are part of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic overhaul plan.

Among the conference speakers: Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim; Prince Sultan bin Khalid, CEO of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund; Egyptian Investment Minister Hassan Khatib; Alastair King, Lord Mayor of London; Christophe Farnaud, EU Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Nivruti Rai, CEO of Invest India.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s credit rating was raised by Moody’s Investors Service for the first time, citing the kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy beyond oil.

And Saudi regulators granted licenses to Citigroup and Morgan Stanley to set up regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, a prerequisite for getting government contracts in the kingdom.