The Programme
Rainmaking Expand: United Arab Emirates is a market entry programme for startups and SMEs looking to expand and de-risk entry into the UAE market. We do this by collaboratively working with your company to strategically validate the best method for your business to enter into the UAE and support the execution by connecting and building commercial opportunities.
Companies in the programme will go through three phases, adapted to your specific needs, readiness and schedule. We do this because we understand that market expansion cannot be timeboxed and can vary between each company. In the programme, you and your team will work closely with an Expand Lead—who will guide your overall development and expansion— as well as a Partnerships Lead—who will connect you to our broader network in-market to generate strong business leads and support your expansion with the goal to achieve commercial success.
Applications for this programme are currently open.
Programme Timeline
The programme is cohortless with regular onboarding. We will be accepting companies like yours into the programme every month, allowing for flexible and dynamic approaches to the UAE market, which is inline with both your company plans and with the opportunities discovered in-market.
Startups and SMEs who join this programme will go through three phases: Go-To-Market Review, Go-To-Market Execution and Post-Programme Support. The time spent in Phase 1 and Phase 2 will depend on your timeline, market readiness and identified opportunities. After connecting with various commercial leads and making progress towards commercial agreements in Phase 2, companies are able to access 18 months of post-programme support in Phase 3.
Phase 1
Go-To-Market Review: De-Risk Your Market Entry
This phase focuses on working with your company to identify a clear understanding of the market potential for your business in the United Arab Emirates and validate your market entry.
The process for this is tailored for every company as we recognise that no two market entry strategies are the same.
Therefore we will adapt the process to your unique situation while also utilising our proven methodology to:
- Identify assumptions on the business model
- (re)Define the customer segments and the value proposition best suited to them
- Master a clear presentation for the United Arab Emirates
This phase can take 1 – 2 months to complete.
Phase 2
Go-To-Market Execution: Validate Commercial Opportunities
This phase focuses on the execution of the Go-To-Market strategy. During this phase, we focus on connecting with key players within the UAE and developing relationships with potential partners.
You can expect us to collaborate and navigate introductions which can lead to commercial outcomes while also:
- Confirming and executing the expansion strategy
- Generating high value market counterpart introductions
- Creating high potential opportunities
- Achieving concrete commercial engagements
This phase can take 2 – 6 months to complete.
Phase 3
Post-Programme Support: Commercial Engagement Development
After completing Phase 1 and 2, your company will move into Phase 3 which focuses on post-programme support. Phase 3 consists of regular check-ins and ad-hoc business introductions when we identify new potential leads in relation to your business needs.
In order to maximise your success in the UAE, this post-programme support is tailored to your needs and requirements.
This phase is available for 18 months after the completion of Phase 2.
Selection Process
Application
This programme is cohortless, and has regular onboarding. Applications are open throughout the year, allowing startups and SME’s to apply and join the programme at the timing that best suites you.
If you are interested in joining, or considering market expansion please register your interest below to meet our team and discuss your expansion.
Interview
If your application passes the initial stages, you’ll be invited to an online call for further review. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the programme, and for us to better understand how we might support your expansion goals.
Internal Review
Upon completing the interview, our team internally reviews your company and your expansion plans for Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.
Agreement Review
Upon a successful selection for the programme, we work with you to decide the best timing for your entry into the market and enter the agreement process review to align expectations and outcomes for the programme.
Why United Arab Emirates?
Stepping Stone into MENA
The UAE leads the MENA region with their innovation policies and active commitment to developing the market. Currently around 50% of investment and activity in the MENA region takes place in the UAE. Startups entering here will be able to access the entire MENA market.
Ease of doing Business
The UAE ranks 16th globally, and 1st in the MENA region for ease of doing business, thanks to their open, transparent regulatory framework. The nation places high value on partnerships, and connecting with the broad networks within the country allows companies to do business with ease in both the public and private sectors.
Focus on a Variety of Industries
There are multiple projects within the region driving development and growth in different industry sectors in order to diversify the business portfolio of the country. These include, but are not limited to, AgTech, FinTech, HealthTech, ICT, Education, Sustainability, eCommerce and Supply Chain.
Dynamic and growing Startup & SME Community
The UAE has spent a lot of time and effort to develop their Startup and SME Communities. These communities provide support and a variety of incentives to enable companies to enter and grow smoothly.
Attractive Policies for Foreign Companies
The UAE has a variety of different legislations to support and smoothen the process for companies to enter the market. This includes allowing 100% foreign ownership for multiple economic activities in specialised sectors, providing a tax-free system and clear governing laws in English.
Leader for VC funding in the MENA region
Investors from the MENA region and have poured $4.2B into the scaleup economy so far, with the majority of the funding happening in the UAE. Funding in the UAE reached a value of $579M in 2020 through 129 deals.
Read Related Articles:
For Singaporean Startups & SMEs: Costs Supported by Enterprise Singapore
GIA × Rainmaking Expand: United Arab Emirates is a programme supported by Enterprise Singapore as an official partner of the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA).
Singapore-based legal entities can benefit from financial support when joining this programme. If selected for the programme, the majority of participation costs will be subsidised by Enterprise Singapore for Singapore-based legal entities. A small, remaining participation fee will be paid by participating companies.
Programme Cost (After Enterprise Singapore’s Subsidy): S$ 8,736 per Company.
Powered By
Rainmaking is one the world’s most prolific corporate innovation and new venture building studios. We are a global team of over 200 that creates, accelerates, and scales new businesses with the world’s leading corporations and entrepreneurs across 13 offices on 4 continents.
Since 2010, we have run our programmes under the Startupbootcamp (SBC) brand. We are now a global family of 20+ programmes running +90 cycles in partnership with 200+ industry partners across various sectors.
The Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) is a network of Singapore and overseas partners in major innovation hubs and key markets, with a focus on technology and innovation.
Through curated programmes run by appointed GIA partners, the network opens new doors for Singapore entrepreneurs to explore internationalisation and global innovation opportunities, and conversely, for international companies to partner Singapore forms and/or scale into the region.
GIA × Rainmaking Expand: United Arab Emirates has been launched with the support of Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), as one of the programmes under the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA). GIA is a joint initiative between EnterpriseSG and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) which aims to connect Singaporean startups & SMEs to major innovation hubs around the world, so as to support their overseas expansion plans.
Ecosystem Partners
HubSpot is the All-in-One CRM That Scales as Your Startup Grows. Save 30%-90% on all the tools you need to increase leads, accelerate sales, and streamline your customer service.
GitHub helps startups plan, track, collaborate, build, test, and deploy software with a holistic and secure platform that scales with them. As part of GitHub for Startups, eligible startups receive up to 20 seats of GitHub Enterprise free for one year and 50% off in year two. Additionally, startups get access to GitHub experts for office hours, live demos, and technical best practise sharing.
Kuubiik is a global company that provides shared services, starting from 10 hours to full-time outsourcing/offshoring for all business functions.
Its global team offers marketing, design, IT, admin, and more. They work with businesses of all sizes and are trusted by global brands such as Google, TikTok, the United Nations, Shopify, HP, TELUS, MyRepublic and SGS, among others. Kuubiik provides agency-level quality control and flexible contracts that are cost-effective.
Rainmaking is one the world’s most prolific Deel is a US based unicorn startup serving more than 10,000 businesses worldwide, enabling companies to hire anyone, anywhere in a legally compliant way by providing a SaaS platform that lets you auto-generate contractor/employment agreements compliant with local labour laws in 150+ countries within a few minutes and pay all your overseas team members in multiple countries and currencies with just a few clicks.
Scalerr is a Consulting firm offering Recruitment & Strategic Advisory services for Tech companies looking to scale in APAC. Our USP is that we help our clients to test & validate product market fit in new regions, we help connect our clients with resellers/customers/VC’s to accelerate their growth, and are experts in hiring teams for tech companies launching in new regions.
Aspire powers over 10,000 companies across South East Asia, helping them save time and money with multi-currency business accounts and cards, FX, expense management, payable management, and receivable management solutions – all in one account. Enjoy unlimited 1% cashback on eligible spends on our corporate cards and up to 3x cheaper FX rates compared to traditional banks.
Apply Now
Applications to this programme are open on a rolling basis. Apply now to start your market expansion journey!