5 minutes
Breeding a unicorn
Dr..
Alaa Jarrad
Garad@alaagarad.com
December 13, 2021
The “unicorn” or the unicorn is a mythical animal, a horse with a single horn in the middle of the head, and symbolizes in legends purity and integrity, and despite the conviction of the Scots of its existence, to the extent that it has been the symbol of the Scottish state since the 15th century, and a visitor to Scotland will notice pictures, paintings and statues of “unicorns” “In many places, regardless of my youngest daughter’s conviction that there are fossils and evidence of its existence in ancient times, the “unicorn” that today’s article is talking about is a term now applied to private companies, whose value exceeds a billion dollars, and perhaps because of the few of these companies in the world. The world gave it this name.
The number of the so-called "unicorn" companies is 936, and they are located in 45 countries.
According to CB Insights, a website that studies unicorns, in December 2021 there were 936 unicorns in the world, and famous unicorns include Airbnb, Facebook and Google.
The total value of these companies is about 3049 billion dollars. These companies have a very strong influence in global markets, and have contributed to achieving great goals for the countries that host these companies. How can unicorns be raised in the Arab world? What is the appropriate environment for breeding this unique quality? Does the size of the country make a difference? Not necessarily, because a country like Singapore has 11 unicorns, Israel has 20, Hong Kong has seven, and the UAE is the only Arab country that has unicorns, where there are three.
A quick look at the statistics of this type of companies, we find that the United States has the lion's share, as it embraces 51% of these companies, followed by China with a share of 18%, then India with 5%, and the United Kingdom with a share of 4%, and the important thing that needs to stop a lot is that 75% of those companies entered the “unicorn” club in 2019, and that 110 joined the club in 2020, that is, at the height of the “Covid-19” crisis, the global financial crisis, and the biggest surprise is that 480 of those companies (i.e. 51%) joined the club in 2021.
Looking at the sectors in which these companies operate, we find eight sectors, with financial technology at the top, which is a relatively new sector, and includes providing financial services solutions using technology, such as remittances, online payment services, and cellular banks, followed by the intelligence sector. Industrial, automotive and transportation, data management and analysis sector, retail trade sector, information security sector, educational technology sectors, and supply chain and logistics sector.
This sector can be studied carefully and focused in order to extract the lessons learned, and to identify the factors of success and attraction for those companies of a special nature, knowing that most of these companies started as start-up companies driven by the passion of their founders, and supported by policies that facilitate the adoption of businesses, embrace innovators, and contribute to their success, Because that success will contribute to the success of countries, if only through creating job opportunities and settling technology, as well as taxes and fees that will enter the state treasury.
• The UAE is the only Arab country that has a "unicorn".
@Brothers_Garden
Garad@alaagarad.com
To read the previous articles of the writer please click on its name.
Garad@alaagarad.com