Dubai’s tech talent surge masks deeper challenges

Just a few months before her lease was up, entrepreneur Sarah Donges uprooted her family from Singapore to Dubai in 2022, amid skyrocketing residential rents in the former.

The Australian now runs an on-demand delivery service in Dubai called Zouba, facilitating peer-to-peer deliveries.

People walk across a pedestrian crossing in Dubai’s business district / Photo credit: lara-sh / Shutterstock

Donges, who had explored starting a business in Singapore, found that doing so as a foreigner was not easy. She needed to bring on board a local director, a company secretary based in Singapore, and a registered business address, each adding to the costs.

By contrast, obtaining an e-trader license in Dubai was a breeze. For 1,070 dirhams (US$291) a year, she gets full ownership of the business and access to a local bank account. The application also took her just five minutes, and no office space was required.

Entrepreneurs like Donges are zeroing in on Dubai, drawn by its bold play to dominate tech. With sleek AI hubs and entrepreneur-friendly visas, the city is ditching its oil-era identity for a brain-powered future.

Still, Dubai hasn’t drawn tech talent at a pace that sets off alarm bells in Southeast Asia, at least not yet.

Dubai’s lure: cost, visas, and hype

Donges is not alone.

In 2023, Dmitrii Vastianov, a product manager and engineer by training, moved to Dubai from Seoul.

The Russian, who was working for a New York-based fintech firm at the time, was seeking a home base closer to the Eastern Time Zone. Dubai offered that, plus low crime, decent healthcare, and a comfortable lifestyle.

While Portugal was also a strong contender, Dubai’s streamlined immigration process tipped the scale. He moved to the city with his wife and child within weeks and completed the process after getting there.

Vastianov notes that more senior engineers are making the jump to Dubai from Europe, the US, and parts of Asia. He adds that a software engineer friend is mid-move from the UK to Dubai, with a job already secured.

Dubai’s strong tourism push is paying off, he suggests. Many visit the city as tourists, are dazzled by what they see, and leave thinking about a permanent move.

If you would like to take more risk but get more reward for it, then come over here.

The talent gap remains

No reason for Singapore to sweat, yet