Her Highness Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and member of the Dubai Council, revealed that Dubai consolidated its status as a global cultural hub and investment destination, ranking first in Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region and second in the world in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in cultural and creative industries (CCI) in 2021.
Her Highness said that Dubai’s emergence as a magnet for FDI in the sector has been driven by the farsighted vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
According to the Dubai FDI Monitor report, published by the Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), an agency of the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai attracted 233 new projects in the creative economy in 2021, surpassing other major cities such as New York, Singapore and Berlin. Dubai improved its rankings from fifth in the previous year. The report was based on data from the Financial Times’ ‘fDi Markets’, the world’s leading data source on greenfield FDI projects.
“These results reflect the maturity and stability of the investment environment in the emirate’s creative economy. Dubai has created outstanding FDI opportunities in the sector by building a robust ecosystem and an advanced business-enabling infrastructure for creative entrepreneurs.
“By fostering an environment that promotes learning, development, and innovation, Dubai has developed a vibrant global creative community. Its unique social fabric that has evolved out of the emirate’s remarkable cultural diversity and its comprehensive human-centred development process has further supported the growth of Dubai’s creative economy,” Sheikha Latifa added.
Data from Dubai FDI Monitor indicates significant growth in foreign investment in the cultural and creative industries. The sector’s estimated value of FDI capital flows exceeded Dhs4.9 billion in 2021. The rise in FDI inflow and rankings reflect the enhanced attractiveness of the emirate’s creative economy. In terms of the number of new jobs in the creative economy, Dubai held on to its top rank regionally and fourth globally with 6,204 new jobs created from FDI.
Sheikha Latifa noted that during the past five years, between 2017 and 2021, the emirate’s creative economy witnessed FDI capital inflows of AED50.9 billion across 787 projects. These projects created 32,542 new jobs during the five-year period. Dubai ranks fifth globally in terms of projects, eighth in terms of FDI capital flows into the creative economy, and fourth in terms of jobs created during the past five years, data from Financial Times Ltd ‘fDi Markets’ shows.