Expand North Star In Dubai Welcomes Historic Number Of European And British Start-Ups

Expand North Star, the globe's largest start-up event, is set to return from 13-16 October 2024 at Dubai Harbour. This edition will see its most extensive European and British participation yet, with over 2,000 start-ups expected, including more than 400 from Europe and the UK.

Hosted by Dubai Chambers and organised by Dubai World Trade Centre, Expand North Star is part of GITEX GLOBAL, the world's largest tech event. The exhibition will feature start-ups showcasing solutions in Agritech, AI, Climate Tech, Fintech, Health Tech, HR Tech, Mobility, Creative Economy, and SaaS. Germany leads new country pavilions with 40 start-ups debuting this year.

European Start-Ups and Investors

Returning participants include the UK with 50 start-ups on their flagship stand, doubling their presence from 2023. France, Italy, and Turkey are also notable returnees. Omar Hassan of Global Growth Hub in the UK stated: "We are thrilled to have the fastest-growing technology companies joining this year's delegation." These companies span across FinTech, AI, Sustainability and EdTech.

According to Crunchbase, European start-ups saw a 31% funding increase in Q2 2024 compared to the previous quarter. This amounted to nearly $16 billion and marked a 17% year-over-year rise. This growth surpassed Asian start-ups' funding for the first time on a quarterly basis.

Investors and Unicorns

The event will host over 1,200 investors and VCs globally. Notable attendees include SpeedInvest with over €1 billion assets under management (AuM), H Tree Capital from the UK, Startup Wise Guys from Estonia, Prediction Capital from Switzerland, and M4 Ventures from Portugal. These investors will participate in meetings and panel discussions.

The premier lineup of investors also includes deep biotech fund H Tree Capital from the UK and Estonian accelerator Startup Wise Guys. Additionally present are consumer tech investor Prediction Capital from Switzerland and Portuguese R&D-focused venture capital M4 Ventures.

UK's Start-Up Ecosystem

The UK boasts over 150 unicorns and 25,000 funded start-ups with a market value exceeding $1.1 trillion. Many of these companies are poised for scale-up opportunities through trusted connectors that facilitate impactful cross-regional collaborations.

"Expand North Star as a global platform provides UK tech with a great path into local markets in the region," said Hassan. He added that exploring expansion into the UAE would be a significant takeaway for many participants.

Event Highlights

This year's edition will connect attendees with over 65 global unicorns. Notable participants include Volocopter from Germany launching an urban air mobility business later this year. The conference agenda features BitPanda from Austria valued at over four billion US dollars with nearly three million customers.

Climeworks from Switzerland will also be present; it is backed by Microsoft Climate Fund and holds a carbon removal agreement supporting Microsoft's goal to become carbon negative by 2030.

GITEX GLOBAL Connection

Expand North Star is inspired by GITEX GLOBAL which returns for its 44th edition from 14-18 October at DWTC. Together they present the world's biggest tech takeover in Dubai with 6,700 exhibiting companies from over 180 countries across 41 halls.

This record-breaking edition of Expand North Star promises unmatched opportunities for investors and start-ups alike. The Supernova Challenge offers a $200,000 cash prize in what is billed as the world's largest pitch competition.