Start-ups at Hub71, Abu Dhabi's global technology ecosystem, have raised more than Dh3.2 billion ($871 million) in funding, generated Dh2.5bn in revenue and created 800 direct jobs since its inception in 2019 through to the third quarter of 2022.
The growth for Hub71 member companies — close to 200 now — comes as investor interest increases in start-ups, making the entity a key contributor to Abu Dhabi's economy, Hub71 deputy chief executive Ahmad Alwan told The National in an interview at Gitex Global in Dubai on Thursday.
In the first half of 2022, Hub71's start-ups were able to raise $436m, reinforcing their appeal to investors.
There was a resurgence in investor interest at Hub71 after the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic wore off. The momentum has been helping its ecosystem and partner network to support Abu Dhabi to “increasingly position itself to be one of the global epicentres of technology”, said Mr Alwan, who assumed his role at Hub71 earlier this month.
“After the pandemic, there was a huge thirst to get out there to engage with partners to identify opportunities, and that momentum continues to this day. It shows the vibrancy of the start-up industry in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
“Beyond the numbers, we want to build globally enduring technology companies. Abu Dhabi has invested in a lot of initiatives that contribute to the technology ecosystem, with the natural competitive advantages it has.”
Abu Dhabi continues to tap into the potential of start-ups, which have grown exponentially as entrepreneurs use innovation to address consumer needs. They are also increasingly seeking funding from global investors to hasten their development.
Hub71's role is part of a broader agenda by the UAE government that promotes entrepreneurship across all sectors. The nation aims to become “the entrepreneurial nation by 2031", according to the Ministry of Economy.
It also aims to be home to 20 unicorns — or start-ups with a valuation of $1bn and above — by then, double than initially planned, Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq said during the launch of the updated Entrepreneurial Nation 2.0 programme at Gitex Global on Thursday.
Start-up ecosystems worldwide are consistently growing as they take on the challenges of developing solutions for a world that is becoming increasingly digital in key sectors such as retail, services, e-commerce and governments.
Globally, the value created by start-ups is about $3 trillion, which is almost at par with the gross domestic product of a G7 economy, according to advisory firm Startup Genome. Funding for these companies broke records in 2021 when it hit $621bn, according to CB Insights.
Mr Alwan said Hub71 has a number of initiatives in the pipeline that are being planned with its partners, without elaborating further.
“We like the element of us making an announcement that is substantial and significant. Once we have a material partnership, that is when we will discuss it more openly,” he said.
Hub71's partners include venture capital companies and wealth funds who are “ready to deploy capital”.
It is also waiting for the time when one of its members will become a global technology company — “graduating from the Abu Dhabi journey”, Mr Alwan said.
“What we aspire is to celebrate is that first amazing success story,” he said.
Hub71 is open to expanding on its “bilateral relationships” with partners in different countries, Mr Alwan said. At the moment, the ecosystem is focused on helping to develop its member companies by taking advantage of its existing partnerships.
All subsectors within technology have the opportunity to be disruptive.
Ahmad Alwan,
deputy chief executive of Hub71
Among the sectors Hub71 will continue to develop are finance, education, health, clean technology, mobility, logistics and travel, Mr Alwan said.
"Hub71 has been traditionally sector-agnostic but has rapidly evolved to have a diversified portfolio," he said.
“These are the sectors wherein we saw a significant amount of our start-ups naturally started, but we also identified where the efforts of our partners are being poured into.
“All sub-sectors within technology have the opportunity to be disruptive. Disruption isn't only in the sense that you are proposing a new idea — you are also addressing an existing problem in a novel way,” he added.
Separately, Hub71 said on Thursday it has partnered with Nigeria-based start-up marketplace GetFundedAfrica to help companies benefit from cross-border expansion.
Start-ups from both sides will be able to access potential customers, investor funds and expertise to help grow their footprint under the partnership.
The move "brings new opportunities in untapped markets that are at the advent of technological transformation", said Badr Al Olama, acting chief executive of Hub71.
Hub71, which is backed by the Abu Dhabi government and Mubadala Investment Company, has continuously unveiled initiatives to support the development of start-ups.
In August, it welcomed 16 new start-ups to its platform, having set up its annual Outliers programme in the month before that. It joined forces with Siemens Energy in September to support Abu Dhabi start-ups addressing climate change issues.
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
UAE Rugby finals day
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How to apply for a drone permit
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- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
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What are the regulations?
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
WOMAN AND CHILD
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESplintr%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMay%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammad%20AlMheiri%20and%20Badr%20AlBadr%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20and%20Riyadh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epayments%20%2F%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10%20employees%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%20seven-figure%20sum%20%2F%20pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eangel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
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How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
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Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
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Hope
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Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
