DIFC Celebrates Strong Year in 2024, as Tech, AI and Fintech Sectors Enjoy Record-Breaking Growth

Technology remains the fastest-growing sector in Dubai, growing to 1,245 companies, up 38 per cent year-on-year, according to new stats revealed by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region. 

As the DIFC aims to bolster economic growth in Dubai, as well as position the city as the financial services capital of the Middle East, it oversaw a significant uptake in job creation from technology companies – expanding to 46,078, up 10 per cent. The AI, fintech and innovation workforce is also growing, standing at 4,243 – representing a 43 per cent jump from the previous year.

The DIFC now houses 6,920 active companies, up from 5,523 companies in 2023, a 25 per cent increase, while the Centre also attracted 1,823 new registrations – the highest ever number recorded in a year, showcasing 25 per cent growth.

Combined revenues for 2024 also grew the most since the inception of the DIFC, reaching AED1.78billion ($484million): 37 per cent higher than 2023’s record-breaking performance. Meanwhile, operating profit grew to AED1.33billion ($363million), up 55 per cent.

Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE; and president of DIFC, discussed the promising statistic, as the Centre enters its 20th year: “Such exceptional growth over a span of 20 years reflects the vision of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, of transforming the Emirate into the region’s leading global financial centre, and solidifies Dubai’s position as a world-leading capital for financial services.”

DIFC is also home to the region’s largest cluster of financial services companies. At the end of 2024, this included more than 260 banking and capital markets companies; 410 wealth and asset management firms including 75 hedge funds; and 125 insurance and reinsurance-related companies.

Wealth city

Demonstrating the depth of the ecosystem, DIFC’s clients now include 27 of the world’s 29 global systemically important banks, eight of the 10 pre-eminent global money managers, five of the highest-ranked insurance brokers, and five of the top 10 interdealer brokers by volume. At the end of 2024, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator for business undertaken from or within the Centre, regulated or supervised over 900 entities.

“DIFC’s Strategy 2030 continues to position us as the top global financial centre in the region and as one of the world’s leading financial centres,” added Essa Kazim, governor of DIFC. “In line with the Dubai leadership’s commitment to build strategic relationships with the international business community, DIFC will continue to forge new partnerships to further strengthen our reputation for driving the future of finance.”

DIFC also outlined that Dubai is home to the highest concentration of private wealth in any Middle Eastern city. Coupled with the large inflows of wealth from millionaires, centi-millionaires, billionaires, family offices and financiers, the Centre revealed that it continues to experience exponential growth in the wealth and asset management sector. Over 400 firms have made DIFC their preferred financial hub in the region, a net increase of 60 firms, reflecting a 16 per cent year-on-year increase.

DIFC’s Alternative Investment industry is growing faster than the market and now includes 75 hedge funds, 48 of which are ‘billion-dollar club’ organisations. The Centre has become one of the world’s top ten locations for hedge funds and is on track to become top five in the coming years.

DIFC capitalises on AI success in 2024

Emerging technologies and the convergence of AI and fintech are contributing to the evolution of financial services and other future-focused industries. In 2024, DIFC introduced two signature initiatives under the Dubai Universal Blueprint for AI. The Dubai AI Campus has already become the region’s largest dedicated cluster of AI and Web3 companies.

Following the success of the DIFC Innovation licence, the introduction of the Dubai AI licence captured the attention of the international tech community. More than 120 companies secured the new licence and joined the Campus in the initial six months of operations, substantially exceeding the first-year target of 75 firms.

Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, also said: “DIFC continues to fortify its position as the region’s number one global financial centre, having welcomed organisations and talent who share our vision to drive the future of finance. As we look ahead, we will continue collaborating with our clients and industry, develop infrastructure, evolve laws and regulations, and nurture innovation to ensure we continue enhancing Dubai’s reputation as the region’s number one global financial centre.”

The first Dubai AI and Web3 Festival also took place in October and attracted 6,800 delegates. As a testament to its success, the Festival will become the largest initiative to be included in the inaugural Dubai AI Week in 2025. The Dubai FinTech Summit, organised by DIFC, returned for its second edition in 2024, welcoming over 8,000 delegates from 100 countries.

As a key initiative under the Dubai Digital Economy Strategy, DIFC launched Ignyte – a platform looking to accelerate over 100,000 start-ups and entrepreneurs toward global growth. To provide more certainty to the market, DIFC enacted the world’s first Digital Assets Law, to cater to the increasing numbers of companies and individuals using digital currencies.

Positive change

The Global Financial Centres Index continues to rank Dubai as the region’s leading financial centre. The Emirate is the only city in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia to be included in the top fifteen positions across multiple categories. Globally, Dubai has risen to sixth for fintech, 11th for professional services, 12th for reputation, 13th for finance and 14th for infrastructure.

DIFC’s Decarbonisation Strategy has set new standards for environmental leadership. The Centre has committed to achieve its Net Zero targets by 2045, five years ahead of the UAE’s 2050 target, by reducing emissions in areas it directly controls relating to its operations, construction activities and supply chains. The Strategy will achieve ‘true’ Net Zero, without offsetting or trading carbon emissions.

The gender diversity ratio within the DIFC workforce, 37 per cent of which is female, is enviable compared to many financial cities around the world.

Providing personal and professional development, and academic training remains an important part of supporting talent in the community. In 2024, 9,156 people graduated from DIFC Academy programme, taking the total to 41,456 learners since inception.

Aligned with DIFC’s commitment to helping one million people learn about sustainably, the DIFC Academy now offers 30 programmes on this subject. Reflecting the prevalence of professional services providers in the Centre, including law firms, there was a 39 per cent increase in the number of people taking part in DIFC legal programmes during the year, taking the total number of graduates to 321 since 2019.

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