Dubai free zone to focus on start-ups - The National

Dubai Internet City (DIC) is to focus on nurturing and attracting local start ups for future growth instead of multinational companies.

"Free zones in the last seven years focused on building the infrastructure. Now we have the buildings, the multinationals, so it is time to focus on the SMEs [small and medium-sized entreprenurs] to build the industry," said Malek Al Malek, the managing director at DIC and Dubai Outsource Zone.

"The time we spend to make sure entrepreneurs are guided and become sustainable, is the most crucial part now." This year, Facebook and LinkedIn joined the likes of HP and IBM to open up offices in DIC.

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