Innovation in Middle East Poised to Be Key Driver for Global Travel Over Next 25 Years
Photo Credit: Chris Hemmeter, partner at Thayer Ventures (left), Fares Alaboud, head of product at Gathern, Charaf El Mansouri, co-founder & CEO of Dharma, with Skift Hospitality Editor Sean O'Neill on stage at Skift Global Forum East. Skift
Skift Take
The new travel ideas being generated in places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai today could be the bridge to the rest of the Africa continent and the entire world in the not-so-distant future — if the region's innovators absorb the lessons from other tech hubs.
U.S. startups have honed the process of failing fast and learning through minimal viable product adaption — a lesson the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) funding ecosystem should leverage.
The region's ability to champion travel tech and innovation was under discussion at Skift Global Forum East on Wednesday in Dubai.
Skift senior hospitality editor Sean o'Neill unpacked travel tech startup pitfalls and opportunities in the region with Charaf El Mansouri, co-founder and CEO of Dharma, Fares Alaboud, head of product at Gathern, and Chris Hemmeter, partner at Thayer Ventures.
The panelists shared how Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as the equivalent of San Francisco and the Valley for the MENA region, is seeing strong innovation in the business travel and alternative accommodations categories.
