Aldar partners with real estate technology investor, Taronga Ventures

Aldar Properties has partnered with Taronga Ventures, a real estate technology investor operating in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Through its partnership with Taronga Ventures, Aldar will have access to technology co-investment opportunities, providing more revenue channels and new efficiencies for its portfolio.

The opportunities will also allow Aldar to build strategic partnerships that deepen technology knowledge transfer into the Middle East.

This partnership marks Aldar’s fifth real estate technology fund investment and diversifies it’s exposure to the sector, through Taronga Ventures’ global mandate and positioning in the APAC region.

The investment is Aldar’s first in a real estate fund in the APAC region, where investment in proptech is expected to reach $26bn by 2024, according to UNISSA, a global platform for PropTech procurement.

These startup programmes include the Aldar Scale Up programme, which focuses on enabling the development of the proptech sector in the UAE, as well as the Manassah programme, which is Aldar’s entrepreneurship incubator that is aimed at nurturing retail technology startups and talent in the MENA region.

Read: Aldar’s Manassah 3.0 programme to incubate F&B startups

Maan Al Awlaqi, Aldar’s executive director of strategy and transformation, said: “Aldar’s innovation journey continues to accelerate at a rapid pace. By tapping into technology and tech-enabled companies across the world, Aldar is not only able to further diversify its business, but crucially, it is able to facilitate the transfer of innovation to the Middle East’s real estate market.

“Taronga Ventures’ focus on the APAC region as well as its ability to identify technology companies that have far-reaching positive ESG impacts aligns with our vision to advance the UAE’s property sector through new technology and sustainability focused solutions.”

Jonathan Hannam, co-founder and managing partner, Taronga Ventures, said: “Having worked and lived in Abu Dhabi we are delighted to be returning to this important region to support emerging technology companies, with such a strong and dynamic partner as Aldar. We can see immediate growth opportunities for many of the fund’s investments within the existing Aldar portfolio and especially in new developments being undertaken by the group. We will also be working closely with Aldar to further develop the technology ecosystem in the Middle East.”