UAE’s shopping mall operator Majid Al Futtaim has unveiled a new concept store Launchpad X at City Centre Mirdif, dedicated to start-ups and SMEs in the Mena region.
It features brands developed by start-ups, as well as entrepreneurs who won in Majid Al Futtaim’s accelerator programme, which was launched last year to promote entrepreneurship and support SMEs.
Managing director of the UAE shopping malls at Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, said: “We are confident that Launchpad X will not only connect the region’s leading start-ups to new opportunities that strengthen their commercial footprint but also be a catalyst for innovation and a powerful force for driving the region’s economic development.”
The store also features products from SMEs from around the region.
Product offerings include home fragrances, fashion and home essentials, loungewear as well as snacks and ethnic crafts.
Last year, Mena start-ups raised nearly $4 billion across 795 deals, securing about $101 million last month, according to Wamda.
However, year-on-year, the funding amount suffered a steeper 73 per cent decline.
Last month, Majid Al Futtaim Retail launched a retail graduate programme in collaboration with 12 top universities across six countries, namely Egypt, Georgia, Jordan, Kenya, Pakistan and the UAE.
The move sought to empower and recruit 75 graduates of various nationalities for its regional Carrefour operations, allocating 50 per cent of the positions to talented female candidates.
