Dubai-based Emaar Properties is planning to launch a $100m fund to encourage Arab entrepreneurs in the fashion and retail sectors, it was reported on Friday.
Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar’s chairman, said the fund would help Middle Eastern designers. The announcement came as the Dubai developer launched the inaugural Vogue Fashion Dubai Experience in partnership with the global fashion magazine
“We need to fund the talent,” Alabbar told the Financial Times. “Every young man and woman here is so keen on fashion and style.”
The fashion element of the fund – which will also have a broader remit to develop small Arab businesses in other sectors – will be run in conjunction with Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, the paper said.
Alabbar’s comments come after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued a decree in August to establish the Dubai Design and Fashion Council.
The decree was part of the emirate’s plan to become one of the world’s foremost design and fashion hubs by 2020 and rival the likes of Paris, New York and London.
Dubai also announced plans to create a new district in the city to develop its fashion, design and luxury sectors.
Sheikh Mohammed said in July that the Dubai Design District will be located close to the Business Bay area of Dubai.
The district is expected to become a full service commercial hub for design industry-related organisations, brands, and supporting enterprises within the value chain, a statement run by news agency WAM said.
Emaar, the Middle East’s biggest developer, built the Dubai Mall whose fashion avenue is expanded to include 100 extra stores by 2015.
Alabbar told the FT that demand for extra retail space has been driven by luxury retailers, with sales up 15 percent in August and expectations of $4bn of sales revenue by the end of 2013.
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