Synaptech Capital, a UAE-based company that invests in UAE and Israeli technology startups, is setting up an education academy in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to reskill those in the labour force.
The academy will focus on skills that will be in-demand as job functions change as technology continues to evolve.
“Synaptech Capital is in the process of setting up with ADGM a coding, hacking, cyber, artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology education academy allowing local Emiratis to reskill for new-age millennial job titles,” Obediah Ayton, Synaptech Capital’s managing general partner, told Arabian Business. “In the coming years, we will see chief artificial intelligence officers and a cyber security departments. So right now our plans with ADGM, is to allow every employee in the Emirates to gain a certified skill in a specific deep tech arena.
The $100 million fund, which is supported by Israel-based Avnon Group, invests in UAE and Israeli technology start-ups across five pillars: fintech, insuretech, smart cities, public safety and cybersecurity.
The Abraham Accords, the historic peace deal between the UAE and Israel signed in August 2020, have paved the way for a flurry of deals between the nations.
Synaptech aims to combine Israeli technological and innovation know-how to grow businesses in the UAE’s ecosystem, which has developed rapidly.
“The issue no one in the Emirates has addressed is that most [tech developed here] hits a ceiling, where you run out of consumers, and international markets are too competitive as they already have similar products. Founders are then forced to sell to large corporates or dilute equity for more marketing tickets to spend on international growth, and after this, the founders’ hands are empty,” Ayton said.
Avnon Group sells their technology to over 80 different countries, and the Synaptech team is looking to leverage presence in these markets to help their startups expand regionally and globally.
“We saw that there is great infrastructure and innovation over here. There are sandboxes for fintech and cybersecurity. And we said, why don’t we bring some startups over here since Israel is considered to be the startup nation?” said Avi Kochva, the managing partner at Synaptech Capital and head of the fintech division at Avnon Holdings.
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