For Entrepreneurs In The MENA, Capital Isn’t The Problem—Access Is
The money is there, but the pipes that connect it to the builders who need it most are still under construction.
Over the past year, in countless conversations with founders in Dubai, I’ve heard a familiar refrain: “There’s money everywhere here. But raising early-stage funding still feels impossible.”
As the founder of OPUS, a network connecting next-generation entrepreneurs across the UK and UAE, I’ve heard that sentiment echoed time and again. It strikes me, because it runs counter to the prevailing narrative. From the outside, the Middle East seems awash with capital. Sovereign wealth funds manage some of the largest reserves on the planet. Institutional investors are active across infrastructure, energy, and technology. Family offices are increasingly curious about startups. And many retail investors have more disposable income than almost anywhere else. On paper, this ecosystem should be one of the easiest places to raise.
But the lived experience of founders suggests something different. The funding landscape here looks like a barbell: at one end, sovereign and institutional money with the power to deploy hundreds of millions. At the other, a wave of emerging family offices and individual investors eager to participate. Caught in between are the founders trying to raise US$500,000 to $10 million—enough to prove a model, build a team, and scale. For them, the options remain limited.
This is the missing middle. Founders don’t need megaproject finance or decade-long governance structures. They need partners who back conviction, understand the realities of building from zero to one, and bring more than capital to the table.
The issue isn’t abundance. It’s access. It’s not about how much capital exists, but how that capital is structured, how fast it moves, and whether it aligns with the realities of modern entrepreneurship.
The irony is that in almost every other respect, the UAE and its neighbors have built world-class conditions for starting and scaling a business. Free zones, digital licensing, and incentives for global talent are all exceptional. It’s easier to launch a company here than in many other markets.
But financial infrastructure hasn’t quite kept pace with physical infrastructure. Too often, founders find themselves pitching to funds that are too large to engage at their stage, or navigating terms that belong to another era. The money is there, but the pipes that connect it to the builders who need it most are still under construction.
This is where community-led models and new capital tools matter. The rise of founder networks and the growing popularity of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) are filling critical gaps. They’re not glamorous, but they are practical.
SPVs pool smaller checks into a single vehicle, simplifying cap tables and unlocking access. For founders, this means raising on their own terms, choosing investors for what they bring, not just what they can spend. For investors, it lowers barriers to participating in early-stage opportunities without the commitment of a full fund.
I’ve seen OPUS members lean into these models, preserving ownership, reducing friction, and attracting the right partners for their stage. It’s one reason we brought OPUS to Dubai. After growing our network in London, the UAE was the natural next step—not because of the headlines about scale, but because of conversations like the ones we’re having with founders every day.
There’s an opportunity here to shape a new kind of ecosystem: one that’s founder-first, structurally sound, and globally ambitious.
Momentum is building. Republic, a New York-headquartered fintech firm specializing in private market investment services has opened up global syndicate access in the region. Local ventures like Zest Equity are developing SPV tooling designed specifically for Middle Eastern dynamics. Syndicates are crossing borders, linking capital in Dubai to founders in Europe, Africa, and South Asia. Builders here aren’t waiting for the perfect structure; they’re working with what exists now.
None of this means the region is short on capital. It isn’t. But if the Middle East is to become a genuine home for entrepreneurs, the crux is whether the money can meet founders where they are, and that requires a shift. Entrepreneurs in the UAE today are globally ambitious and unwilling to trade away ownership too early. The investors who will matter most are the ones who recognize that and adapt accordingly.
Dubai has already written its story of scale. The next chapter will be written by capital that actually works for the people building.
The capital is here. The talent is here. The question now is whether we can connect them fast enough to build what comes next.
About The Author
Sam Tidswell-Norrish is the founder and Chair of OPUS, a global collective of founders, entrepreneurs, and value creators.
This article first appeared in the December 2025-January 2026 issue of Inc. Arabia. To read the full issue online, click here.
