Entrepreneurship in the Middle East: United Arab Emirates & Israel

3 units

The Middle East is in the process of transforming from predominantly relying on energy to drive the economies to become hubs of global innovation and entrepreneurship. This course provides students with a unique opportunity to learn about an established entrepreneurial country (Israel) and an emerging entrepreneurial country (UAE) and to understand the unique interconnectedness between culture, politics, and business and how all three produce a unique and successful business and entrepreneurial environment in the Middle East focused on the UAE and Israel, the leading countries in the region. This course will do the following: 1) provide an understanding of the journey the countries have been on and the impact that culture, politics, and the Abraham Accords have on the innovation ecosystem in Israel and the UAE; 2) develop the ability to conduct research on an Israeli & UAE businesses/industry and analyze the primary drivers for their success; 3) solve an unstructured business problem from a startup with a presence in the UAE and Israel; and 4) contrast and compare elements of Israeli and Emirati businesses to American businesses on an industry level while understanding the global business environment.