Middle East and African economies don't need more unicorns – they need camels

For too long, we’ve been told that the path to economic glory is paved with unicorns – billion-dollar startups that capture headlines, attract global investors, and spark national pride. I’ve been there, across continents, seeing the allure and the risk. In the Middle East and Africa, chasing unicorns often dazzles with promise yet rarely builds lasting value.

Unicorns are built for Silicon Valley. They rely on deep pools of patient capital, predictable exit opportunities, and a robust ecosystem of buyers and secondary markets. Most of our markets simply do not have these conditions yet – and trying to force them creates imbalance.

Take Africa, we’ve produced a handful of unicorns – Flutterwave, OPay, Chipper Cash, Andela, Jumia, Moniepoint. The Middle East has minted its share too: Careem, SWVL, Tabby, Tamara, Yalla. But ask yourself: how many are still standing strong? Jumia’s value fell 90% after its IPO. SWVL’s market cap collapsed by 96% months after listing. Flutterwave faces regulatory hurdles while chasing profitability. These firms soaked up capital that smaller, more durable companies desperately needed.

Venture data tells the same story. Africa raised $5.2 billion in 2021 and half of that went to just 16 mega-deals out of 604 transactions. In the Middle East, it’s the same pattern: a few platforms get the bulk of capital while thousands of SMEs struggle for working capital. And yet, SMEs are the backbone of our economies – 96% of Nigerian companies are SMEs, accounting for 84% of jobs. In the UAE, SMEs generate over half of the GDP. Yet, they receive less than 10% of funding.

The solution is visible, not speculative. We need camels – resilient, revenue-first companies that endure, create jobs, and generate consistent value. These are firms generating $5–10 million in annual revenues, solving real problems, affordable education platforms, mid-sized healthcare networks, and food-processing firms supplying local and export markets. They don’t chase headlines; they build payrolls, reinvest profits, and compound value steadily.

This is strategy not preference, venture capital is shrinking. Africa went from $6.4 billion in 2022 to $2.2 billion in 2024. Gulf investors are shifting toward infrastructure. For camels, scarce capital is a competitive edge and should not be a constraint; it’s a competitive edge. Unicorns will still emerge, but only as a natural progression, not the ecosystem’s centerpiece.

The shift matters. Focus must be on sectors that drive real impact – agrifood, education, healthcare. And capital itself needs rethinking: predictable financing, local-currency credit lines, revenue-based instruments, sovereign-backed blended funds. These are the pipes that keep money flowing to the companies that truly move the needle.

Middle East and Africa don’t need to mimic Silicon Valley, we need our own metaphor; the camel, durable, disciplined and adapted to scarcity. Why? because camels endure, they create jobs, they build sovereignty. The future isn’t about scattered unicorn signals – it’s about structure, long-term capital, and backing companies that will still be standing in 10 or 20 years.

The camel model isn’t Plan B. It’s the only plan that makes sense.