Dubai-based serial entrepreneur, Joy Ajlouny, is a self-proclaimed ‘bull in a china shop’.

She’s been described as a ‘grenade’ in her field, and by never taking no for an answer she believes she’s, ‘gamified rejection’.

Born in California to Palestinian parents, the investor & advisor has carved out a reputation for successful startups & business ventures worldwide.

She’s also raised more than $100mn in funding.

She shared with Inspire Middle East, her top tips for young entrepreneurs looking to raise capital.

“You’ve got literally the first two minutes to get your value proposition across, to make the investors understand what it is you have that’s exciting,” she told Rebecca McLaughlin-Eastham. “Pitching is everything and in the beginning you’re not profitable, so you have to sell your team and you have to sell the idea. They have to believe in you.”

Ajlouny is the co-founder of Fetchr, the Silicon Valley-backed tech company which disrupted the delivery-courier sector in the Middle East region, by eliminating the need for a physical address.

The business, which now operates in five countries with more than 4,500 staff, was titled ‘Number 1. Startup in the Middle East’ by Forbes.

Global startups

IMAGE: IME – S03E25 – Main – Secondary Picture

Startups brainstorm for ideas

According to Startup Genome, the US-based startup policy advisors, the global startup economy creates an estimated $3 trillion in value.

Seven of the top 10 companies operate within the tech space, and the report states that more than 70% of global startups saw their revenue drop since the start of the pandemic.

The Middle East’s startup scene is rapidly developing, but like the rest of the world, it’s reeling from the COVID-19 crisis.

That’s not to say there isn’t hope, with SG’s report referencing that approximately 50 tech unicorns were founded between 2007 and 2009.

Moreover, businesses that raised venture capitalist money in the Great Recession of 2008 included Facebook & LinkedIn.

Startups are a key driver of wealth and job creation, and Middle Eastern cities like Abu Dhabi and Dubai made the top 100 of Startup Genome’s Emerging Ecosystem Rankings.

Abu Dhabi ambitions

The UAE is where Ajlouny calls home, and she’s especially inspired by what she’s sees taking shape in the capital, namely the global tech ecosystem Hub71.

“I say this with a lot of pride, what the government of Abu Dhabi – and basically the Abu Dhabi Investment Office – what they’re doing, it’s spectacular,” she says. “They’re building an infrastructure to invest in startups, and not just startups, but venture capital. They understand that startups are the future and the future has to be investing in tech, in bright ideas and the youth.”

When comparing the business models of Silicon Valley in the United States and MENA’s tech startup hubs, Ajlouny is encouraged by the region’s ‘blank canvas’ potential.

“In this part of the world, what’s exciting is that there’s so much that needs disruption,” she told Inspire. “There’s huge population here that needs

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