Abu Dhabi first’s tech hub, Hub71, has welcomed seven new start-ups to its incentive programme.
British cloud payroll service dopay, Egyptian AR company Furnwish and Jordanian truck booking system Trukker have all made the decision to grow their companies from the emirate
Tunisian medical device company ProvenMed International, UAE insuretech platform Addenda Technologies, school tech firm SchoolVoice and UAE-born social networking platform SportyQ are also joining the Hub71 community based in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
The new recruits will benefit from subsidised living, office space and health insurance for founders and their employees.
Identified as exceptional high-growth tech companies, these new start-ups will be joining Hub71’s community in the coming weeks; making a total of 18 early stage companies that have pre-qualified for admission into the programme.
Applications for Hub71’s Incentive Programme will be opened to the public later this month targeting seed and emerging tech companies led by dedicated founders with scalable, quality tech solution and ideas.
In August, Hub71 also announced its partnership with Oyo to provide accommodation for Hub71 companies.
WeWork, Hub71’s workspace provider, is offering single desks and co-working office space starting from AED1,470 per month. The desks will open in Q1 2020.
“We’re on track to hit our goal of bringing between 20 – 30 quality start-ups to Hub71 by year-end and our first startups demonstrate that we’re building a tech community that ranges in size, growth stage and sector,” said Mahmoud Adi, CEO of Hub71.
“As part of their growth strategy, the new start-ups joining Hub71 will create new tech jobs in Abu Dhabi. The MENA region is ripe for disruption and Abu Dhabi is leading the charge by providing access to capital and market opportunities to catalyse home-grown innovations.”
The Abu Dhabi tech hub is looking to attract high-growth tech companies that can demonstrate a ‘disruptive approach’ or ‘developed disruptive technology’ and have secured funds of at least $100,000 within the first years of operation.
Backed by Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala Investment Company, Hub71 aims to bring together several key elements for start-up success: access to capital, access to market opportunities, and a favourable business environment.
Tech investments have become increasingly important for oil-rich Gulf countries as they seek to wean themselves off the oil industry.
In June last year, Mubadala Investment Company made its intentions clear by headquartering its new $400 million European tech start-up fund in London.
Japan’s SoftBank is said to be providing half the cash for the new Mubadala tech fund.
The fund said at the time it would target “founder-led, high growth technology companies with global scale and impact”. It will also help European companies establish operations in Abu Dhabi.
Ibrahim Ajami, head of Mubadala Ventures, the US-based venture capital arm of Mubadala Investment Company, told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview in May this year:
“We are interested in attracting founders with great ideas from all over the world. We are particularly interested in start-ups from the UK and Europe as we have launched our fund to invest in technology companies across the continent.”
Follow us on
