Duval Union Consulting launches book on corporate venturing in Middle East

The MENA branch of Belgian-based digital strategy specialists Duval Union Consulting has released a book on corporate venturing in the Middle East region.

Providing practical advice for accelerating growth through corporate and start-up collaboration, the best-selling guide features a history of corporate venturing and in-depth case studies highlighting the value of successful collaboration between corporates and startups in delivering a competitive edge.

Authored together with Omar Mohout, a Professor of Entrepreneurship at Antwerp Management School, the book follows an earlier publication from Duval Union CEO Dado Van Peteghem and fellow Duval co-founder Jo Caudron – ‘Digital Transformation: A Model to Master Digital Disruption’ – which would ultimately bring the management firm to the Middle East.

Launching an office in Dubai at the start of this year in partnership with Chalhoub Group, the two were initially brought together when the luxury retailer’s co-founding brothers Patrick and Anthony Chalhoub uncovered the Duval founders’ 2013 book, impressed enough to invite the Belgian consultancy to guide Chalhoub on its digital transformation agenda.

With that first international push, the Ghent-headquartered Duval Union finally made the long-desired leap to the Netherlands, opening its second overseas branch in short matter of time. Since then, the emboldened firm has launched service lines in the food and retail sectors, with former Unilever executive Nils van Dam last week announced as the global head of its new food & retail practice.Duval Union will now be hoping that Van Peteghem’s latest publication, ‘Corporate Venturing – Accelerate Growth Through Collaboration with Start-ups’, will have the same momentous impact in the Middle East – with the book already a best-seller in Belgium and the fastest ever moving title for its local publisher. The launch is a timely one too.

Start-up boom

In a recent report, the global management giants McKinsey & Company outlined the opportunity for significant growth in MENA’s digital economy, citing the high levels of digital engagement in the underserved region and the rapidly rising levels of funding for local start-ups – with the deal count jumping from 138 to 260 in the three years between 2014 and 2017, and the average ticket size growing at a compound annual rate of 54 percent.

Van Peteghem further elaborates on the budding sector; “With over 60 per cent of the Arab world’s population being below the age of 30 years, and the focus of governments in this region on nurturing a culture of local entrepreneurship, there could not have been a better time for startups to set up, grow and prosper in the MENA region than now. The evolution of the startup scene also presents opportunities and challenges for the more established corporate sector.”

Corporate Venturing

With Duval Union known for its innovative no-nonsense approach to consulting – attracting high-profile clients such as Samsung, Microsoft, Atlas Copco and Volvo (the last two of which recently tied for first place in a corporate decision-making survey by accounting network Crowe) – the book also shares this sensibility, described as a “no-nonsense, ready-to-apply comprehensive guide for creating and reviewing your corporate venturing strategy.”

Van Peteghem says: “Corporate venturing is aimed at anyone who wants to think structurally about their future, given that venturing is a strategic instrument set to thrive in this fast-changing world. Whether you want to capture technology innovation, market share, change your organisational culture or generate new revenue streams, the book provides practical insight into the different strategies that can be used to achieve competitive advantage.”

Omar Mohout, the book’s co-author and a technology entrepreneur, adds; “Businesses today talk of disruptive innovation and transformational change. Yet, many are hesitant to look towards collaboration, especially with start-ups, to drive innovation and growth… The principles we put forth have been successfully tried and tested in many other parts of the world – and will serve as a referral point for the Middle East region’s corporates, startups and all stakeholders.”