Expand North Star 2024, the world’s largest start-up event, will gather over 2,000 exhibiting start-ups at the Dubai Harbour, 400-plus hailing from Europe
By : Basel Khaled
Expand North Star, the world’s largest start-up event, returns from 13-16 October 2024 to the iconic Dubai Harbour, featuring its biggest European and British participation ever seen. The 9th edition of the landmark start-up show based in Dubai is expected to bring together over 2,000 start-ups, with more than 400 from Europe and the United Kingdom joining the four-day exhibition.
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. Exhibiting start-ups will be showcasing their solutions and real applications in Agritech, Artificial Intelligence, Climate Tech, Fintech, Health Tech, HR Tech, Mobility, Creative Economy, Software as a Service, and more. Germany is leading among the new country pavilions from the region, with 40 start-ups debuting at the show this year, followed by Ireland, Poland, Latvia, Austria, and Portugal.
Returning participants include the United Kingdom, with 50 start-ups on their flagship stand, a twofold growth compared to their participation in 2023. Close behind are France, Italy, and Turkey. Omar Hassan, Managing Director of Global Growth Hub in the UK said: “We are thrilled to have the fastest-growing technology companies joining this year's delegation, spanning across FinTech, AI, Sustainability and EdTech.”
As the world’s third most valuable start-up ecosystem, with a market value exceeding $1.1 trillion, the UK is home to over 150 unicorns and 25,000 funded start-ups, many of which are poised to scale up, according to global data company Dealroom. This challenging journey can be significantly enhanced through a trusted connector, enabling companies to forge impactful cross-regional collaborations and explore new investment opportunities.
“Expand North Star as a global platform provides UK tech with a great path and connectivity both into local markets in the region and beyond, particularly in Asia and Africa. The delegation is ready to explore expansion into the UAE, and that will be the biggest takeaway for many participants,” said Hassan.
Investors and Unicorns Capitalize on Unmatched Opportunities at Expand North Star
According to Crunchbase, European start-ups saw a 31% increase in funding only in Q2 2024, reaching nearly $16 billion compared to the previous quarter. This represents a 17% rise year over year, with significant growth in both early and late-stage funding and surpassing Asian start-ups' funding for the first time on a quarterly basis.
The region’s most visionary investors will be present at Expand North Star 2024, representing 30% of the more than 1,200 investors and VCs from around the world gathering in Dubai. Visitors can have the chance to see SpeedInvest, one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors with over €1 billion assets under management (AuM) and offices in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, and Vienna.
The premier lineup of investors also includes the deep biotech fund H Tree Capital from the UK, the Estonian accelerator and fund Startup Wise Guys, the consumer tech and fintech investment company Prediction Capital from Switzerland, the Portuguese R&D-focused venture capital M4 Ventures, among many others. VCs, accelerators, and investors will join an exclusive programme of meetings, eagerly anticipated panel discussions on stage, and the Supernova Challenge, the world’s largest pitch competition with a $200,000 cash prize.
Beyond the unparalleled investors, this record-breaking edition of Expand North Star will connect the audience with over 65 global unicorns, with extensive participation from Europe and the UK’s most influential companies, such as Volocopter, the German aircraft manufacturer launching the world’s first sustainable and scalable urban air mobility business later this year.
The conference agenda will feature unicorn giants BitPanda from Austria, with over four billion US dollars valuation and nearly three million customers, and Climeworks, Swiss unicorn backed by Microsoft Climate Fund and the technology provider holding a 10-year carbon removal offtake agreement to support Microsoft’s commitment to become carbon negative by 2030.
Expand North Star is the powerhouse start-up event inspired by GITEX GLOBAL, the world’s largest tech show, returning for its 44th edition from 14-18 October at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). Together, the shows spearhead the world’s biggest tech takeover in Dubai, presenting 6,700 exhibiting companies from 180-plus countries across 41 halls.
