The Middle East region is a vast region with some of the most attractive startup cities globally. Start-up founders can benefit from deep networks and a high-tech workforce in a highly developed ecosystem like Tel Aviv or a well-funded and promising ecosystem like Riyadh.
Finding the right place to start is an essential first step in starting a business. We identified the best cities in the Middle East that are hotspots for budding entrepreneurs. Each offers attractive qualities to look for in your home: affordable financial resources, low taxes, and a trained workforce to ensure you have plenty of promising applicants. For the convenience of starting a new business, Manama and Dubai received the highest scores (53% and 52%, respectively).
The aim is to evaluate the region’s main cities from various viewpoints that directly affect their residents’ lives. And also develop a common index based on several parameters, including living standards, economic factors, socio-cultural and environmental factors, and labor rights.
List of Best cities of Middle East To Start New Business
Big-city residents usually earn higher salaries, but are they happier? According to a 2015 survey of the best cities on Bayt.com in the Middle East and North Africa, it is. The survey shows that the residents of Abu Dhabi are happiest in the area where they currently live. 83% of them said so. Manama and Muscat are following closely when it comes to overall happiness – 79%. On the other hand, the citizens of Beirut were the most dissatisfied. A little more than a quarter of them (26%) expressed their happiness in the city where they live.
- Tel Aviv, Israel
The Tel Aviv region is the startup nation’s most crucial innovation hub and is ranked 7th worldwide (and 3rd outside the US). The cluster is home to Israel’s best engineering university (Weizmann Institute), produces many high-quality startups such as Waze and Wix, and is very strong in the fields of software and data, social and recreation, and fintech. Tel Aviv has the honor of being a city where more companies are started per capita each year.
- Haifa, Israel
With its high-tech workforce, Haifa is home to a development hub for many multinational companies, and city officials are currently working to leverage these assets to develop their startup ecosystem. It is the 143rd best starting city in the world.
- Riyadh Saudi
Riyadh is the first Saudi ecosystem in our ranking and the 281st best startup city in the world. Towns and villages hope to take advantage of the entrepreneurial economic policies set out in the Plan Vision 2030. The vision of Uber and Softbank – Riyadh has the potential to become significant players in the region.
- Tehran
Iran faces many complex geopolitical challenges, and Tehran has not escaped them. Tehran is ranked 338 globally, but it is inspiring to see its steady ranking at the regional level. States and cities have great potential, but current difficulties make it nearly impossible to fix.
- Yokoneam
With less than 30,000 residents, Yokoneam is the smallest city on this list. It is an inspiring study of a small town relatively far from other cities that have cut taxes and managed to use them cheaply to create vital centers. Mellanox Technologies (founded in 1999 in Yokneam and selling for just under $ 7 billion in 2019) was the most significant success to date, which is very impressive for such a small city. - Dubai, UAE
Ranked 99th worldwide for startups, Dubai is the last city in the Middle East (and the only one outside Israel) in our top 100 for 2020. Dubai offers founders a wide range of foreign talent and a high-income population, and a gateway to the Arab world. The city has good volume and business results, but quality lags behind no unicorns or significant exits. Business setup in dubai is best option because of so many benefits. Like world class infrastructure, strategic locations, liberal policies, etc. Also, there are many business setup consultants who can help you setting up your business.
- Beer Sheva
Israel’s fourth launch center, Beer Sheva, ranks 199th in the world. As the country’s thriving technology hub, he’s currently building CyberSpark, a government-sponsored cyber innovation center. The complex expects to host more than 40,000 people working on high-tech projects when they will complete in 2030.
- Amman Jordan
Amman (203) is the only city in Jordan to be included in our 2020 global ecosystem report. The ecosystem benefits from several healthy startups and coworking spaces and relatively high incomes for the region, but similar to Dubai, it hasn’t produced many high-quality startups yet.
- Abu Dhabi
Still relatively low at 315th place, the city has made a significant jump in the rankings (188 sites) to become one of the best starting cities in the Middle East. Government support for the technology world is key to this significant increase. The announcement of $ 250 million in late 2019 to invest in startups is a testament to the ongoing efforts to develop this attractive ecosystem.
- Oman
Oman is an excellent platform for starting new businesses. The government welcomes new investors to invest in national and international projects to contribute to the global economy. Business Setup Worldwide is a platform you can use to build your business in Oman. We assist our clients with business support services such as business registration bookkeeping, bookkeeping, tax advice, and intellectual property protection. You can contact us for more information.
Conclusion
The best cities to live, work, and trade are also the cities that offer the best quality of life. Defining the term “quality of life” is not an easy task. Indeed, what constitutes a good quality of life has preoccupied philosophers since Plato and Aristotle, and countless definitions are present.
However, it seems possible to find some elements that most economists and scientists agree with. First, “quality of life” is used to assess the general well-being of people and society. Although most quality of life surveys take into account indicators of economic success such as per capita income, wealth, and employment, they go beyond these measures, including environment, physical and mental health, education, leisure, infrastructure, and safety. Often concepts such as freedom of expression, human rights, social ownership, and happiness are also included.
