Abu Dhabi's Masdar City and Mashreq Bank are teaming up to provide financial services to start-ups and small and medium enterprises operating out of the free zone.
All businesses based in Masdar City will now have “easy access” to NeoBiz, Mashreq's digital banking platform designed specifically for start-ups and SMEs, the companies said.
“Masdar City is currently home to more than 1,000 companies, including a wide range of innovation-focused SMEs and start-ups,” said Abdulla Balalaa, executive director of Masdar City.
“The city is Abu Dhabi’s only planned and approved R&D [research and development] cluster, and to businesses, we offer a unique ecosystem of education, R&D, and innovation, that not only allows them to develop and thrive, but also supports Abu Dhabi’s position as a world-leading business destination.”
Masdar City offers business services such as registration and access to benefits such as 100 per cent foreign ownership, zero import tariffs, a reduced tax footprint, access to R&D partnerships, dual licensing and the option to repatriate capital and profits.
Last year, it also introduced new business packages with licence fees ranging between Dh1,000 ($272.29) and Dh12,000 to attract more companies.
It also signed a financing deal worth $200 million with First Abu Dhabi Bank to help the free zone acquire more properties through its Green Real Estate Investment Trust.
The proceeds from the transaction will assist Masdar City in bringing more sustainable assets to the market through new developments while expanding its size, it said.
In January, Masdar City also partnered with the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund to support local start-ups and boost entrepreneurship in the UAE. The agreement will allow the entities to support start-ups from the post-conception stage and also assist them in scaling up their operations.
As part of the initiative, the MBRIF Guarantee Scheme and Innovation Accelerator will support Masdar City’s SME development efforts while both organisations will also be able to use each other’s human expertise, infrastructure and technology where necessary.
Mashreq Bank launched NeoBiz in 2019 to offer customised digital offerings for SMEs such as digital onboarding, simplified products, a digital assistant and full transaction capabilities online.
“Our agreement with Masdar City will enable us to increase customer acquisition while also raising awareness for our digital platforms,” said Vikas Thapar, executive vice president and head of business banking and NeoBiz at Mashreq Bank.
“Our commitment to fostering the SME ecosystem and efforts to catalyse SME development is what led to the development of NeoBiz and its suite of specially designed services.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
