Hub71 leads Dhs1.5bn investments for Abu Dhabi startups

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, stated that its startup community has raised Dhs1.5bn in funding since its creation and secured Dhs30m in 2021 through more than 20 corporate transactions.

The company’s businesses have a combined worth of Dhs5.87bn, and almost 1,000 jobs have been generated since its establishment in 2019, a statement said.

Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, chairman of Hub71, said: “Following Hub71’s 191 per cent startup growth in 2020, Abu Dhabi has emerged stronger as a technological and innovative economy characterised by progress. Entrepreneurship will be a key cornerstone of a sustainable economy, and if the quality of Hub71’s founders are anything to go by, we have every confidence the tech ecosystem will continue to attract long-term investment, international partnerships and companies exceeding the one-billion-dollar valuation mark.”

Our Impact Report is now live! We’ve made great progress with our tech ecosystem over the years and have helped startups grow and thrive right here #inAbuDhabi. pic.twitter.com/zftvbqPx26

— Hub71 (@hub71ad) March 23, 2022

“As we work toward achieving the UAE’s ambition of becoming an entrepreneurial nation by 2031, Hub71’s strong performance in 2021 exemplifies the enabling business environment we have established in Abu Dhabi. We aim to position technology companies for growth, and our priority remains to enable a flexible and favourable business environment that supports creative ideas and scales solutions to address society’s most pressing challenges.”

From January to December 2021, Hub71’s Impact Report provides insights into Abu Dhabi’s technology ecosystem and its impact on the wider community, economy and society. Hub71’s community includes startups from 25 nations across 18 diverse sectors, ranging from fintech, robotics, artificial intelligence and big data to healthtech, agtech and cybersecurity.

As part of its mission to build a community of globally enduring tech companies and position Abu Dhabi as a leading tech hub, the company has connected founders with investors and funds and contributed Dhs36m through its various initiatives to ease the startup journey in Abu Dhabi.

Hub71 startups concluded 32 funding rounds, including a Dhs154m Series-A round for Trella, and Dhs110m Series-B rounds for BitOasis, the cryptocurrency platform, and Securrency, the blockchain-based financial infrastructure firm, to support their development across the UAE and the region. In addition, through The Outliers initiative, which seeks solutions to challenges set by corporate and government partners, seven proof of concepts (POCs) have been successfully developed, and three multimillion-dirham partnerships have been made.

Badr Al-Olama, the acting CEO of Hub71, commented: “Our Impact Report demonstrates how much progress Hub71 startups have achieved over the past year. Founders play an immense role in Abu Dhabi by defining the future of technology that is capturing the imagination of a city full of ambition. At Hub71, we partner with founders who are scaling the leading businesses of tomorrow that are inspiring new ways to advance sectors and influence how we do things. Impact has been our number one aim, and we are firmly committed to it as our community contributes to the UAE’s next 50 years as a catalyst for growth, transformation and disruption.”

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