Hub71 accepts 16 new start-ups to its Abu Dhabi tech ecosystem

Cohort has already raised more than $63m in funding

Hub71 provides access to global markets, a capital ecosystem, a global network of partners, and a vibrant community filled with highly skilled talent. Courtesy Hub71

Abu Dhabi's technology start-up centre Hub71 has accepted 16 new budding businesses to its growing community.

The list of new companies features early-stage start-ups with diverse representation from leading international tech hubs including the UK, US and South Korea.

They include Pakistan’s first digital bank, TAG; UAE-based Trade Capital Partners, a platform that boosts access to working capital for start-ups and small to medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets; and Zywa, the first neobank for teenagers in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The start-ups, which have already raised more Dh231 million ($63m) in funding, will benefit from structured programmes to boost investment potential, and a new range of flexible incentives, that allow founders to choose the level of support based on their start-up needs, Hub71 said in a statement.

“Our first cohort of the year reflects our ambition of matching our pace with that of global tech start-ups that have the highest growth potential," said Badr Al Olama, acting chief executive of Hub71.

"What makes Hub71 so different is our founder-centric approach that puts emphasis on building leaders and teams to sustain exponential growth for start-ups."

Hub71 is a flagship initiative of the Dh50bn Ghadan 21 economic stimulus programme and was founded by the Abu Dhabi government, Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi Global Market, Microsoft and Japan's SoftBank Group in 2019. It helps entrepreneurs to build tech companies with a global outreach, as the emirate seeks to diversify its economy away from oil.

Its start-ups have so far raised Dh1.5 billion of investment through the tech ecosystem’s corporate partners. The companies have been responsible for creating 1,000 new jobs.

The UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy, has taken various steps to encourage entrepreneurship in an effort to fuel its post-oil economy.

Last year, the country unveiled the Entrepreneurial Nation initiative, which aims make the Emirates home to 20 unicorns — a term referring to start-ups valued at more than $1bn — by 2031, as well as to attract and expand small and medium enterprises.

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Q1, 2022 start-ups

• Letswork – an app that connects users with workspaces across the UAE via a single membership.
• Genify - an AI fintech company helping banks and other FinTech companies bring intelligent features to their consumer-facing offerings, thanks to powerful APIs.
• Zywa - the first neo bank for teenagers in Mena.
• Tickitto – provides a B2B marketplace for tickets to live events and cultural experiences so that consumer platforms can start selling tickets to customers and increase wallet share.
• DarDoc - provides primary healthcare services that aim to make accessibility of healthcare from anywhere a reality.
• Trade Capital Partners - a digital trade finance company that offers working capital solutions to small and medium-sized companies and growth start-ups in emerging markets.
• Dtonic Corporation - Dtonic is a big data solution provider specialising in technologies that process Spatio-temporal data quickly and efficiently.
• Alliance Care Technologies - provides analytical and productivity tools to hospitals, physicians, and patients.
• MonkiBox - an award-winning, research-driven early learning subscription program that supports babies’ cognitive and motor development.
• FinFlx - the first comprehensive gratuity platform in the MENA region to automate gratuity management, forecasting, and reporting.
• BridgerPay - a SaaS company that built a bridge between merchants and payment providers to manage multiple payment providers, save failed transactions and cart abandonment.
• Erad - a data-first web platform that allows SMEs to manage revenue and transform monthly recurring revenue into upfront capital.
• TAG - reimagining the essence of banking by equipping and empowering the segments that have long been ignored by brick-and-mortar banks.
• Purpl - it aims to become the partner of choice for the yearly $7BN remittances coming into Lebanon.
• Doctoori - provides high-quality, reliable, and easily accessible health information in Arabic.
• Ostaz - a digital educational platform that aims at promoting education.