How important is it for emerging markets to identify their “Silicon Valley”?

[imontauk]

I'm the co-founder of Gaza Sky Geeks, the first startup incubator/accelerator/tech hub in Gaza. Just had a conversation with Michael Seibel (CEO of YC accelerator) in which he said we have to figure out NOW what the Silicon Valley will be for all Arab startups in the future.

How important do you think this is for the Arab world, or emerging markets more broadly? Has any country outside of the US created such a central hub yet? Why is it critical to figure it out at such an early stage, and is it really realistic to expect hubs as central as Silicon Valley to emerge around the world?

From my perspective, even though we're building $1B companies, we've got to focus on the next 6-12 months for now. Gazan startups just closed the second round of seed investments in their history. As an accelerator, we're working on our second round - we're where YC was in 2006. We're focused on things like getting 12 hours of electricity for our entrepreneurs (www.powerupgazageeks.com), setting up their first legal entities (that took a LOT of time), figuring out where we provide the most value (sweet spot seems to be bringing mentors to Gaza and taking startups out of Gaza - most of the folks we work with have never been more than 30 miles from home before because they essentially live in a prison).

Plus, the geo-political environment around us is changing. A few years ago Beirut, Cairo, Amman looked like the potential startup hubs for the region. Now I'd lean towards Dubai, though it faces another challenge (too much security control of the internet > Google won't open an engineering hub there as a result).

If you've got any experience thinking through this in Europe, Africa, LatAm, Asia... would love to hear your thoughts.

[NonStopper]

As a relatively naive observer of the world of startups I find myself questioning the very premise of the response from Mr. Seibel. Especially in a environment where travel is difficult, security is inhibiting, and the physical environment is challenging.

Geographic concentrations (Valley making - sic!) would appear to serve at least two significant dimensions: first, closer to funding sources at all levels (Y Combinator, etc., venture capital) and second, access to skilled engineers and organizational talent (and mentors). One optimizes for the investors and the other supports the entrepreneurs. Compared to Dubai, Amman, Beirut or Cairo, Gaza is probably unique in its limitations but simultaneously rich because of the intensity the constraints result in. The question back to Michael might be what obstacles distributed centers present to the Y Combinator model. The intensity of competition for eyeballs and finances could as easily get in the way of strong work at ground level, IMHO.

Just some thoughts from an observer who was in IT and what we called Computer Operations 30 years ago.

[iyad1989]

I believe this is a very challenging topic. The Arab world definitely needs a hub for startups and I think Dubai is a very good place for such a place. It's true that there are some challenges there but every place choice will have some. Egypt (which would have been my first choice a few years ago) is not the best option now for all the economical and political challenges in there. Dubai on the other hand seems to progress very fast and will be more likely to set the right basis for entrepreneur and start ups to grow. It is also attractive because it attracts many talents from all over the world and its still growing economically. Having lived almost my whole life in Gaza, i believe Gaza Sky Geeks is currently the Silicon Valley for Gaza; and we can already see many young graduates getting engaged in all it's activities. It won't be long before the majority of students join it to work from there and it will need to grow by many factors to accommodate it. It is no longer a good-to-have, rather it's becoming a necessity and soon one of the pyramids for economic development in the country.

[iyad1989]

Great efforts.