Masdar City is currently home to more than 1,000 companies. Photo: Masdar City
Masdar City is currently home to more than 1,000 companies. Photo: Masdar City
Masdar City is currently home to more than 1,000 companies. Photo: Masdar City
Masdar City is currently home to more than 1,000 companies. Photo: Masdar City

Masdar City and Mashreq link up to support start-ups and SMEs


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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.”

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman

World Cricket League Division 2

In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.

UAE fixtures

Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final

Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Retail gloom

Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.

It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.

The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.

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What is an ETF?

An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.

There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.

The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash. 

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FIXTURES

Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EGoalkeepers%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKim%20Seung-gyu%2C%20Jo%20Hyeon-woo%2C%20Song%20Bum-keun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDefenders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKim%20Young-gwon%2C%20Kim%20Min-jae%2C%20Jung%20Seung-hyun%2C%20Kim%20Ju-sung%2C%20Kim%20Ji-soo%2C%20Seol%20Young-woo%2C%20Kim%20Tae-hwan%2C%20Lee%20Ki-je%2C%20Kim%20Jin-su%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMidfielders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPark%20Yong-woo%2C%20Hwang%20In-beom%2C%20Hong%20Hyun-seok%2C%20Lee%20Soon-min%2C%20Lee%20Jae-sung%2C%20Lee%20Kang-in%2C%20Son%20Heung-min%20(captain)%2C%20Jeong%20Woo-yeong%2C%20Moon%20Seon-min%2C%20Park%20Jin-seob%2C%20Yang%20Hyun-jun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStrikers%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHwang%20Hee-chan%2C%20Cho%20Gue-sung%2C%20Oh%20Hyeon-gyu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to help

Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.

Account name: Dar Al Ber Society

Account Number: 11 530 734

IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734

Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Updated: May 30, 2023, 7:44 AM`