ADQ-backed investment company Further Ventures has launched a $200 million fund that will co-create and support business ventures.
The fund, anchored by Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ, will focus on building digital assets, FinTech and supply chain sector start-ups. It is a “unique offering” out of Abu Dhabi for founders looking to build ventures in “frontier or regulated industries”, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Further will team up with entrepreneurs as an institutional co-founder to launch and expand new ventures from ideation to exit.
“Entrepreneurs and experienced executives who choose to launch their next venture with Further will have access to product and engineering resources for concept development; seed capital required to take the business to Series A; and reserved capital for following on through multiple rounds of funding,” Further said.
Beyond capital investment, the new venture capital company has a dedicated team that provides legal and regulatory support, talent sourcing and recruitment, operations, and business development facilities.
It provides start-ups access to some of the largest organisations in the Middle East and North Africa region as well as venture builders globally, as part of Further’s extensive network, the company added.
In addition to launching its own ventures with founders, Further said it will also establish the “Further Network” by actively investing in and co-creating start-ups with leading global venture builders.
Within the digital assets space, Further is targeting digital asset payments products, blockchain asset custody and security solutions, marketplaces, wallets among others.
It is looking at wealth management, small and medium sized enterprises finance, financial inclusion, remittance, and payroll products ventures with in the FinTech space, leveraging on its experience in launching regulated financial institutions in global markets.
Digital freight and warehouse management companies and other supply chain-related ventures will also be able to benefit from Further’s extensive ties to ADQ’s broad portfolio, which includes major international retailers, port operators and airlines, the company said.
Further currently has four start-ups in its portfolio — UAE-based FinTech companies AUrem and Floos, businesses-to-business supply chain venture Right Farm and digital assets company Stealth, according to its website.
Venture capitalists and state-backed investors are boosting investments in start-ups as they become an increasingly important part of the global economic development agenda.
Entrepreneurs and experienced executives who choose to launch their next venture with Further will have access to product and engineering resources for concept development; seed capital required to take the business to Series A; and reserved capital for following on through multiple rounds of funding
Venture platform Further
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 company Startup Genome. Funding for these companies broke records in 2021 when it hit $621bn, according to CB Insights.
Companies in the UAE raised $699 million in the first half of 2022, ranking the Emirates as the leading country for venture capital financing in the Middle East and North Africa, according to data platform Magnitt.
The UAE also led the region in terms of deals, which grew 10 per cent in the six-month period from a year ago, Magnitt said in August.
The UAE also hosted the biggest deal — a $181m convertible note mega-round for Abu Dhabi-based Pure Harvest in June. The Arab world’s second-largest economy attracted more than $1.47bn in venture capital in 2021, according to Magnitt data.
Further is the latest venture of ADQ, one of the top regional holding companies whose portfolio spans industries including energy and utilities; healthcare and pharmaceutical; mobility and logistics; food and agriculture, financial services, and industries among others.
In March, ADQ consolidated its venture capital activities under DisruptAD, which invests in start-ups and venture capital funds, as well as create new incubators and accelerators to support Abu Dhabi’s positions as a global start-up hub.
DisruptAD aims to support over 1,000 start-ups over the next five years. Beyond the UAE, the platform is eyeing markets including the broader Middle East and North Africa region, India, China, South East Asia and the US, according to an ADQ statement at the time.
DisruptAD is also responsible for Dh1.1bn ($300m) the Alpha Wave Incubation Fund that focuses on Indian and South East Asian start-ups. It also manages Dh535m Ventures Fund, a flagship initiative of the Ghadan 21 programme.
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
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Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
