Startup Focus
In association with Hub71
A community of founders, investors and business enablers that form a unique technology ecosystem strategically located in Abu Dhabi
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Seed Startups
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Build your own unicorn: How Microsoft is empowering start-up ecosystems
Abu Dhabi has been hard at work in recent years fostering a regional hub and launchpad for innovative B2B entrepreneurs. ADIO’s strategic five-year partnership with Microsoft builds on this work, introducing a...
How Abu Dhabi connects tech founders, educators and rising talent
In a series of webinars aimed at helping tech founders make the most out of setting up or expanding a business in Abu Dhabi, Hub71 (the UAE capital’s tech ecosystem)...
Abu Dhabi’s startup ecosystem is making an impact
Since its launch in 2019, Abu Dhabi’s global startup ecosystem, Hub71, has boosted the capital’s profile as a great place to start and run a tech business. Less than two...
Roadmap to Abu Dhabi: Access to talent
“In order to attract the brightest and boldest thinkers and to sustain Abu Dhabi’s position as a centre of tech innovation, we are focusing on world-class education, research and development...
Tech startups find new opportunities in the Middle East’s booming tech capital, Abu Dhabi
Covid-19 and its ensuing lockdowns have left a lot of people exploring new ventures – especially for tech founders looking to diversify revenue sources or seeking venture partners in new...
Roadmap to Abu Dhabi: Access to capital
The MENA region has emerged stronger and more resilient from the Covid-19 pandemic. Increasing access to capital for startups in Abu Dhabi means entrepreneurs can seize this moment as an...
How a startup ecosystem is thriving thanks to a smart approach to regulation
Founded in 2015, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is one of the MENA region’s most successful and well-structured international financial centres. Since its inception, ADGM has quickly become a vital...
The marketplace opportunities tech startups dream of
Everyone knows the classic tale of the startup: find a marketplace opportunity, come up with a novel solution or product, shape the business offering, get funded, and (hopefully) succeed....
Meet the startup fighting for financial inclusion
The co-founder of financial services platform Rise explains how her business is putting migrants back in charge of their finances, and how the startup is benefitting from being part of...
New webinar series for Abu Dhabi startups
On 6 October 2020, the Abu Dhabi government kicked off a series of webinars to rival some of the best TED Talks in business. Focusing on the work being done...
Expert roundtable: Rethinking banking for startups in the UAE
The United Arab Emirates is considered the home of tech startups in the MENA region, with 60% of investment funding for startups in the Middle East given to projects based...
Investor Insights: How Abu Dhabi’s collaborative ecosystem supports startups
Abu Dhabi’s drive to foster an environment of invention is no secret, and the UAE capital’s tech ecosystem, Hub71, is one of the main drivers of that journey. Not only...
Mubadala Ventures seeking partners for Israel-based, high-tech fund
When the UAE and Israel announced plans to normalise relations in August 2020, there was no shortage of speculation that the consequence would be an inevitable and dramatic uptick in...
Investor Insights: MEVP’s Rabih Khoury shares his VC knowledge
Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) is the MENA region’s oldest and largest technology venture capital firm. With offices in the UAE, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, and venture partners...
Gothams helps accelerate the future of space engineering
There aren’t many companies with a description as intergalactically intriguing as “we are a force accelerator”, but if anyone can claim it without being accused of exaggeration, it is indeed...
Meet the Emirati woman enabling startups to thrive in Abu Dhabi
Businesswoman, entrepreneur, and “youth enabler” Hanan Harara Al Yafei is CEO of one of the world’s most vibrant tech ecosystems, Hub71, located in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The relatively young Emirati...
Startup Insights: global and local tech power with Thales Emarat Technologies
French multinational Thales Group has been working in the United Arab Emirates for more than 40 years. The company, which has operations in 68 countries, is known for its work...
Startup Insights: Mentoring startups helps them expand
Property developer and manager Aldar is leading the MENA region not just in terms of its expansive portfolio and ambitious growth, but also in its increasing focus on clean tech,...
New long-term UAE business visa allows tech entrepreneurs to scale globally
While many savvy tech startups have already made the move to the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi for lucrative business opportunities, access to global markets and capital; you may not know...
From west to east – the new tech entrepreneur’s journey
While many astonishing inventions have happened all over the world, location has always been important in tech advancements. Hotspots such as Silicon Valley, are where tech entrepreneurs and startup founders...
Investor Insights: How to raise capital and create value, with Mubadala Investment Company
Raising capital is one of the toughest parts of running a tech startup. It can be hard to find someone who shares your vision; and when you do, you often...
France and the UAE strengthen their offerings for tech startups
While virtual meetings and cloud-based working practices are now a permanent part of every day life, in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, a new tech startup ecosystem is developing that...
Abu Dhabi: the gateway to amplifying your fintech startup
Back in 2017, Bahrain’s regulatory sandbox was just launching, and excitement was building in the MENA region and abroad about the possibilities and achievements it might deliver. By early 2020,...
How ADGM makes doing business in Abu Dhabi easy
Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is a thriving, robust international financial centre that operates under English Common Law. Founded in 2015, it offers a modern business infrastructure and a holistic...
Investor Insights: How to make your startup investment-ready
American venture capital firm Lumia Capital is the kind of investor that startups dream about: they focus on the people as well as the business. And, while they understand that...
High quality healthcare in Abu Dhabi
When it comes to healthcare, every country offers a different approach, and it’s always helpful to have international networking so that best practice can be shared. The UAE is currently...
Investor Insights: Mubadala on how startups can get investment-ready
Mubadala is an investment company with $232bn worth of assets under management and also a backer of Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 ecosystem for growing tech companies. Ibrahim Ajami, head of ventures...
Meet the startup that’s bridging the gap between tech and creative
London-based Arishi Agency delivers high-tech services to clients across many industries – managing director Andrew Elia explains why he has located his new venture in Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem, Hub71....
Why Indian tech startups are so excited about the UAE’s tech boom
The relationship between the UAE and India is a storied and symbiotic one. Both countries benefit from a strong trade relationship that extends from imports and exports to talent and...
Investor Insights: Shorooq Partners on how startups can be investment-ready
It may not be one of the first things that springs to mind, but raising capital for your startup or new venture is often most easily achieved by simple, old-fashioned...
How one firm in Abu Dhabi is changing the data security game
With the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union as well as the findings of firms such as Cambridge Analytics that even major companies are...
Meet Abu Dhabi’s blockchain and decentralisation wunderkind
“All industries are the same – you have to stay away from the people who have a propensity toward jargon and toward trying to create their little islands of expertise....
Startup Insights: How Techstars’ accelerator programme is changing the world
If you’re a part of the tech world, you’ve most likely heard the Techstars story and perhaps wanted a piece of that investment pie. Founded in 2006 by a team...
Startup Insights: Microsoft on early-stage tech startups
In the first of a new series, where Hub71’s global partners give us their take on the evolving startup world, we spoke to Sayed Hashish, General Manager, Microsoft UAE, about...
Big data success in the Middle East: how Microsoft is helping young startups
The big success stories of the tech world used to start in someone’s garage, with a bit of homemade hardware, a big dream and a lot of hard work. Today,...
Edtech Case Study: Using technology to enhance the teaching of Arabic
Badr Ward, founder and CEO of the world’s first Arabic-language educational app, Lamsa, is the classic example of an entrepreneur who built a business to solve a problem he faced...
Meet the American startups thriving in Abu Dhabi
With the massive economic downturn brought on by the recent pandemic, many US business owners have their hands full securing new lines of investment and diversifying their revenue streams. While...
Meet the UK startups thriving in Abu Dhabi
With the massive economic downturn brought on by the recent pandemic, many British business owners have their hands full securing new lines of investment and diversifying revenue streams as much...
The future of healthtech: Opportunities for startups in the UAE
Healthcare Technology is a growing sector, with an annual value expected to reach $11 billion in the Middle East by 2021, according to the Middle East Medical Devices and Diagnostics...
The future of edtech: How Abu Dhabi is leading the way
The format of education has changed, possibly forever, due to the ongoing viral pandemic, with UNESCO reporting that more than 60% of the world’s student population have been negatively impacted...
UAE minister for AI and digital economy on the opportunities for tech companies to grow in Abu Dhabi
In 2017 the UAE signalled its commitment to technological innovation when it appointed HE Omar Al Olama as the first minister for artificial intelligence of any country in the world....
Fintech startups in the post-Covid-19 world: Stable governance is key
The question all fintech startups are asking themselves is:"How can we survive and even thrive in the challenging post Covid-19 economy?" Is the answer to bunker down in London or...
The future of proptech is in Abu Dhabi
Anyone who’s been to the UAE or even seen aerial shots of the country knows how quickly the construction and property markets move there, with high-rise buildings and new developments...
Future of tech startups: Why base your tech startup in Abu Dhabi?
Some 60% of investment funding for startups in the MENA region was given to projects based in the UAE in 2019, according to a report by startup data analysis company...
Abu Dhabi’s bid to create a complete ecosystem for startups
It’s been a tough few months for most companies worldwide unless you’re Amazon, and smaller companies in particular, including startups, have certainly been hit harder than larger corporations with multiple...
Startups and Covid-19: Where do we go from here?
In the Covid-19 era, it’s no secret that many startups around the world have either completely failed or scaled back to a bare minimum working model in the hopes of...
