Bayt.com Survey: Entrepreneurship in the MENA 2024

The entrepreneurial landscape in the MENA region continues to evolve, shaped by the diverse ambitions and innovative spirit of its entrepreneurs. But no dream comes true without facing obstacles, which is why we need to understand what the main obstacles encountered are these days and how they can potentially be tackled. We also need to know which industries are attracting the most entrepreneurial interest this year?

Bayt.com has conducted a comprehensive survey to better understand the dynamics of the entrepreneurship scene in the MENA to enable aspiring entrepreneurs to devise effective strategies that can support their ongoing growth and success.

Key Findings:

• Given a choice, 49% of respondents would like to seek employment in a company, while 39% of the respondents would be self-employed or have their own business.
• ‘Personal fulfillment’ (45%), ‘freedom to choose work-life balance’ (43%) and ‘ability to give back to the community’ (40%) emerge as the top reasons for preferring to be self-employed.
• Of those who are self-employed, 45% took the first step to establish their business in the last 5 years.
• ‘Wanted more income’ (31%) and ‘To achieve a better work-life balance’ (28%) arise as the top reasons for starting their own businesses.
• The most appealing industries for entrepreneurship are IT/ Internet/ E-commerce (11%), Real Estate/ Property Development, Commerce/ Trade/ Retail (9% each).

Data for the Entrepreneurship in the MENA survey was collected online from 2nd – 29th April 2024. The results are based on a sample of 1,090 respondents from countries including UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Sudan, among others.