Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, Hub71, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) have collaborated to help early-stage tech startups build their teams and scale their businesses to generate societal impact.
The cooperation complements Hub71’s new program,‘The Outliers’, which allows startups from around the world to interact with prominent enterprises and government entities in Abu Dhabi to solve operational difficulties.
Hub71’s collaboration with ADIO reinforces the emirate’s commitment to sustaining a robust, competitive environment for startups to gain access to capital, commercial activities, and incentives from both the public and private sectors.
Hub71 and ADIO hosted a Demo Day for existing Hub71 startups to pitch for cash grants, which aims to accelerate their growth. Following a thorough review by an investment committee comprised of Hub71 and ADIO members, ten entrepreneurs were chosen to receive funds totaling more than $2.7 million (AED10 million) to help them develop their innovative solutions.
The successful firms that earned cash grants from ADIO at the Demo Day specialize in HealthTech, FinTech, AgTech, and information and communication technologies (ICT), demonstrating Abu Dhabi’s commitment to supporting a varied variety of creative ideas and solutions in high-growth areas.
H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi Director General ADIO
“Startups are key to Abu Dhabi’s economy, both in terms of economic benefit as well as the bold ideas and ambition they bring to the business ecosystem. The government plays a critical role in creating an environment where businesses are supported to succeed, and at ADIO, we are investing maximum resources and efforts to ensure innovative startups can successfully scale up from Abu Dhabi.”
Ibrahim Ajami, Interim CEO of Hub71 and Head of Ventures and Growth at Mubadala Investment Company commented, “We are committed to supporting tech startups by leveraging the network of partners that back our mission and strive to provide opportunities to access funding or grants. Capital is an instrumental enabler that unlocks our startups’ growth. It is initiatives like these that showcase the benefits of public-private partnerships that are a staple within the unique environment of Abu Dhabi.”
The Outliers
The Outliers is an annual initiative led by Hub71 in collaboration with important business and government partners, which aims to solve their operational difficulties. The program aims to foster an innovative culture inside organizations that are seeking to partner with startups and invest in founders’ ground-breaking ideas to improve business processes and generate efficiencies.
