Earlier this week, Dell announced the results of its 2017 Women Entrepreneur Cities Index (WE Cities), which aims to measure a city’s ability to attract and support high potential women entrepreneurs, specifically focussing on women that want to grow and scale their business.
Since its debut in 2016, this year’s WE Cities index has expanded to 50 global cities versus the original 25, chosen for their reputation as “established or emerging hubs of innovation and entrepreneurship,” taking into account geographic diversity.
The index authors note that while many of these cities are already strong in commercial entrepreneurship, “Strength in entrepreneurship, though, is not necessarily a strength for women entrepreneurs.”
So let’s do a little slice and dice, shall we? (Because you should never take a survey at face value)
While the usual suspects dominate the top three spots—New York City, the Bay Area, and London—there are some surprising entrants in the top ten, including Boston and Stockholm (at no. 4 and 5 respectively) and Singapore (no. 8), the only city outside of North America and Europe to make it.
In fact, besides Singapore, the only Asian cities in the top twenty five, to make an appearance are Hong Kong (no. 16) and Tel Aviv (no. 24), with the latter being the only other Middle Eastern city on this list. (See the full infographic here)
When you consider that Dubai and Singapore have a lot in common—both major financial and trading hubs in Asia, relatively young nation-states with a high level of government-driven economic initiatives—why does Dubai lag behind in this study?
Core industries have not significantly changed
According to a detailed city profile, although Dubai boasts high long term growth rates of almost 5%, its core industries have not changed dramatically in the last 20 years, these being trade, hospitality, and logistics.
High tech adoption, low tech creation
The city also received top marks for ICT adoption, which spearheaded the launch of Dubai’s Smart Government, yet technology creation still stands at a dribble. By comparison, Singapore has made great strides in technology development in a relatively short period, with the index citing “biotechnology and electronics are leading industries.”
Key ecosystem components still missing
When it comes to entrepreneurship, Singapore placed 6th for “Enabling Environment: and 7th for “Access to Capital,” key drivers identified
What does that really mean for the city’s women entrepreneurs?
“Dubai has come a long way and is growing in the right direction, but there are still some puzzle pieces missing,” believes Thea Myhrvold, founder of ed-tech startup Teach Me Now.
According to Myhrvold, certain critical elements would accelerate the entrepreneurial ecosystem. “Founders need more security. We invest blood, sweat, and tears in building a business here. A path to long term residency, which countries like the US have in place, would go a long way towards making Dubai even more attractive for international entrepreneurial talent.”
While the index remarks that business set-up costs are low, Myhrvold paints a different picture.
“Business set-up costs can add up when you factor in the license, visa, insurance, office space and more…all before you’ve even started selling your product or service. Bear in mind, companies like Google were started out of a garage! Much more can be done to reduce costs for startups. Hubs like [Dubai’s] In5 are great if you want to keep costs low and get you up and running in no time.”
Huh?
Notably, the index incorrectly states that “Women are well represented amongst the capital investment community” and that “Dubai ranks in the top half for women-founded VC firms.”
“Untrue. There are no women-founded VCs or female venture partners in Dubai,” remarks Heather Henyon, Founder and Director of Women’s Angel Investor Network (WAIN), the first women’s angel investing group in the Middle East.
She adds: “There are women angel investors and female entrepreneurs supported