Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Tech startups drive rise in Ireland’s exports to UAE

Visitors tour the exhibition halls at Gitex Global. This year's expo runs until October 18 Gitex Global
Visitors tour the exhibition halls at Gitex Global. This year's expo runs until October 18
  • Exports up 21% in 2023
  • 18 Irish companies at Gitex
  • Education and health specialists

Exports from Ireland to the UAE rose by 21 percent last year, driven by Irish technology and healthcare companies. 

The trade agency Enterprise Ireland says exports to the GCC increased 13 percent last year, reaching €532.5 million ($580 million).

Qatar had the region’s fastest growth in exports from Ireland last year, with a rise of 26 percent. It was followed by Saudi Arabia (up 10 percent) and Kuwait (up 6 percent). 

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister for trade and commerce, held talks with 18 Irish companies at Gitex Global 2024, the tech expo taking place this week in Dubai. He said his department would connect them with Emirati government agencies.

Stephen Twomey, Mena director at Enterprise Ireland, said the technology being exported from Ireland aligned “perfectly with the UAE’s vision for a sustainable, tech-driven future”.

Among the companies exhibiting at Gitex is Alpaca (Assessing Letter Knowledge and Phonemic Awareness Classroom Assistant), which has developed a game that helps to identify literacy needs in young children. The tool is used by Gems International School Al Khail in Dubai. 

Another education tech specialist, PAT Business School, provides “e-assessment” that can replace traditional paper-based exams and give personalised written feedback to students. UAE University and ACCA Middle East are among its customers. 

Eight Irish sports tech businesses are among the Gitex delegation, including Field of Vision, which uses artificial intelligence to make live sports more accessible to visually impaired fans. Manchester City and Australian Rules Football are among its clients. 

The Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi and the Italian football club Juventus are both customers of KineMo, which uses AI to track and quantify in 3D the movement of an individual’s joints during exercise and rehabilitation through a video from any single mobile device.

Enterprise Ireland supports more than 350 Irish companies in the GCC, with a focus on Dubai’s D33 economic strategy and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, Expo 2030 and World Cup 2034.