Why the Gulf market is the new favourite for Indian start-ups
For an Indian start-up, expanding in the Middle East makes more sense as the region gives access to a much larger global territory and helps in generating better revenue
The Middle East and North Africa region, especially the UAE, is a hub for expats, global businesses and provides immense business opportunities for people all over the world.
There are two very specific reasons for Indian start-ups to choose the MENA region for their international expansion. Firstly, the taxes for setting up a business in the Middle East are lower as there is no capital gains taxation, making it a good market for new business set-ups.
And secondly, there are a lot of similarities between the demographics of the population of the UAE and India.
According to the UN’s migrant report of 2017, Indians represented nearly 45 percent of the UAE’s population, making the region an extended market for Indian start-ups to test brands on like-minded people and increase their consumer base.
The MENA region is also one of the smartest in the world in terms of internet penetration and infrastructure, making it ideal for connected start-ups.
For an Indian start-up, expanding in the Middle East makes more sense as the region gives access to a much larger global territory and helps in generating better revenue. The region also provides a high-paced lifestyle, highly developed infrastructure capabilities and regulations.
Many Indian technology-based start-ups have already started their expansion in the Middle East. Below are some start-ups that have already expanded in the MENA region and are going strong:
ClickPost – an India-based logistics intelligence company, extended its operations across the MENA market in 2020. Founded by Naman Vijay, ClickPost is providing cutting edge logistics intelligence solutions to help e-commerce businesses in reducing return rates (RTO) by 25 percent.
Naman Vijay, co-founder and CEO of ClickPost.
The company is profitable, processing more than 10 million shipments per month and growing at a rate of 600 percent year-on-year.
In the MENA region, Clickpost currently works with Styli (Landmark Group) and Nice. It is also in talks with some of the leading companies in the luxury, apparel, cosmetics and pharma sectors in the region.
Increff – India’s leading SaaS company offering supply chain and warehousing solutions to fashion and lifestyle brands has recently announced its partnership with two leading businesses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market – Namshi, the largest online multi-brand fashion platform in the Middle East, and Aramex, a multinational logistics, courier and package delivery company.
Increff is a data technology company helping fashion brands and retailers optimise inventory across B2B and B2C sales channels. They provide new-age technology solutions that allow omnichannel brands to automate inventory management, achieve distributed warehousing and build efficiency in operations to drive 100 percent inventory accuracy and faster order fulfilment.
Increff is a data technology company helping fashion brands and retailers optimise inventory across B2B and B2C sales channels.
POSist – a global leader in the cloud-based restaurant technology platform trusted by 9,000 restaurants in 35+ countries, POSist offers scalable, reliable, and easy-to-use restaurant technology, enabling businesses to automate operations, delight guests, and grow revenue. Headquartered in New Delhi, POSist has a strong presence in the USA, UK, Gulf, Latam and Southeast Asia.
Urban Company – is India as well as the UAE’s largest home services company. The company offers services such as beauty and spa at home, cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, appliance repair, painting etc. through its mobile app and website.
It operates in 10 cities in India (including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune) and Dubai.
Urban Company operates in 10 cities in India and Dubai.
At the backend, Urban Company partners very closely with over 20,000 hand-picked service professionals. It provides these professionals with tools, training, uniforms, financing, insurance, bank accounts and products/consumables.
In terms of tech innovation, India is the third-largest ecosystem in the world, while the MENA region aims to be the global hub for technology in future and has been making meaningful efforts to transform itself into a knowledge-based innovation hub.
It is safe to say that now is the perfect time for Indian start-ups to explore the MENA region to set up their business move forward with their international expansion plans.
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By ITP
More of this topic
Why the Gulf market is the new favourite for Indian start-ups
For an Indian start-up, expanding in the Middle East makes more sense as the region gives access to a much larger global territory and helps in generating better revenue
Pranshu Kacholia, vice president-growth, ClickPost.
The Middle East and North Africa region, especially the UAE, is a hub for expats, global businesses and provides immense business opportunities for people all over the world.
There are two very specific reasons for Indian start-ups to choose the MENA region for their international expansion. Firstly, the taxes for setting up a business in the Middle East are lower as there is no capital gains taxation, making it a good market for new business set-ups.
And secondly, there are a lot of similarities between the demographics of the population of the UAE and India.
According to the UN’s migrant report of 2017, Indians represented nearly 45 percent of the UAE’s population, making the region an extended market for Indian start-ups to test brands on like-minded people and increase their consumer base.
The MENA region is also one of the smartest in the world in terms of internet penetration and infrastructure, making it ideal for connected start-ups.
For an Indian start-up, expanding in the Middle East makes more sense as the region gives access to a much larger global territory and helps in generating better revenue. The region also provides a high-paced lifestyle, highly developed infrastructure capabilities and regulations.
Many Indian technology-based start-ups have already started their expansion in the Middle East. Below are some start-ups that have already expanded in the MENA region and are going strong:
ClickPost – an India-based logistics intelligence company, extended its operations across the MENA market in 2020. Founded by Naman Vijay, ClickPost is providing cutting edge logistics intelligence solutions to help e-commerce businesses in reducing return rates (RTO) by 25 percent.
The company is profitable, processing more than 10 million shipments per month and growing at a rate of 600 percent year-on-year.
In the MENA region, Clickpost currently works with Styli (Landmark Group) and Nice. It is also in talks with some of the leading companies in the luxury, apparel, cosmetics and pharma sectors in the region.
Increff – India’s leading SaaS company offering supply chain and warehousing solutions to fashion and lifestyle brands has recently announced its partnership with two leading businesses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market – Namshi, the largest online multi-brand fashion platform in the Middle East, and Aramex, a multinational logistics, courier and package delivery company.
Increff is a data technology company helping fashion brands and retailers optimise inventory across B2B and B2C sales channels. They provide new-age technology solutions that allow omnichannel brands to automate inventory management, achieve distributed warehousing and build efficiency in operations to drive 100 percent inventory accuracy and faster order fulfilment.
POSist – a global leader in the cloud-based restaurant technology platform trusted by 9,000 restaurants in 35+ countries, POSist offers scalable, reliable, and easy-to-use restaurant technology, enabling businesses to automate operations, delight guests, and grow revenue. Headquartered in New Delhi, POSist has a strong presence in the USA, UK, Gulf, Latam and Southeast Asia.
Urban Company – is India as well as the UAE’s largest home services company. The company offers services such as beauty and spa at home, cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, appliance repair, painting etc. through its mobile app and website.
It operates in 10 cities in India (including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune) and Dubai.
At the backend, Urban Company partners very closely with over 20,000 hand-picked service professionals. It provides these professionals with tools, training, uniforms, financing, insurance, bank accounts and products/consumables.
In terms of tech innovation, India is the third-largest ecosystem in the world, while the MENA region aims to be the global hub for technology in future and has been making meaningful efforts to transform itself into a knowledge-based innovation hub.
It is safe to say that now is the perfect time for Indian start-ups to explore the MENA region to set up their business move forward with their international expansion plans.
Pranshu Kacholia, vice president-growth, ClickPost.
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