Masdar City to host 20 start-ups showcasing innovative technologies during ADSW

Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City will host 20 international start-ups and small and medium enterprises to showcase innovative technologies on sustainability in an exhibition during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

The exhibition will be held from January 17 to 19 as part of Masdar City’s Innovate initiative that was launched last year to support start-ups, Masdar City said in a statement on Thursday.

“At Masdar City, we have created a highly unique ecosystem of education, research and development, technology and innovation, which is designed to bring companies together in a unique environment where they can build their networks, explore multiple investment opportunities and test new technologies,” Abdulla Balalaa, executive director of Masdar City, said.

Through Innovate platform, start-ups and SMEs can showcase their work at Masdar City, which pays a key role in providing solutions to advance the global green transition, he added.

The companies will also have the opportunity to expand or move their operations to Masdar City Free Zone in the UAE capital as part of the Innovate initiative, according to the statement.

Exhibiting companies during the event represent different sectors including artificial intelligence, clean energy, agriculture technology and urban sustainability. These include Aerodyne, FortyGuard, Tenderd and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence under the category of artificial intelligence; and Exelx, Hydro Water Energy, SmartHelio, Sunbox and Volts under the category of clean energy.

The Futurist Company, Manhat, QS Monitor, Wayout International, Proteinea, Desert Control, Circa Biotech from AgTech and food security as well as Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, Blueflite and Kasi Technologies focused on urban sustainability will also be present.

Masdar City is home to the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency, as well as several Fortune 500 companies, a graduate-level research institute and a number of other businesses. Tabreed as well as HealthTech Company G42 Healthcare are also based in Masdar City.

Last year, Masdar City introduced new business packages with licence fees ranging between Dh1,000 ($272.29) and Dh12,000 to attract more companies to set up operations in its free zone and support existing businesses.

Abu Dhabi is investing in start-ups to expand the innovation ecosystem in the capital as part of a broader economic diversification strategy. It set up Hub71, an international ecosystem to support start-ups in 2019. The emirate also launched other programmes to support start-ups including a Dh535 million Ventures Fund in 2019.

The three-day event will have a series of six online panels featuring industry experts and innovators discuss topics including, ‘The future of innovation in clean energy’, ‘Reaching Net Zero using artificial intelligence’, ‘The future of urban sustainability’, ‘The future of water security’, and ‘The future of AgTech and food security'.

Sustainable Cooling inside buildings - in pictures

External shading mechanisms, such as the ones on Al Bahar Towers in Abu Dhabi, are particularly effective in reducing indoor temperatures. Photo: Delores Johnson / The National
Skyscrapers can be difficult to cool inside as they are often designed with windows that do not open. Photo: Unsplash
White exteriors reflect the sunlight, meaning the building does not absorb as much of the heat. Photo: Unsplash
Air conditioning is a popular but environmentally unfriendly method of cooling a room or building.
Traditional Arab wind towers were designed to allow warm air to flow out of the top while letting cooler air in through a window lower down.
Narrow streets such as this one in Taiwan mean buildings shield each other from the full force of the sun. Photo: Unsplash
Tiled flooring along with minimal soft furnishings can help keep a room cool when the temperature starts to rise outside. Photo: Unsplash

RESULT

Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’

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.”

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

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