OurCrowd, one of Israel's biggest venture capital companies, is expanding its operations in Abu Dhabi with a new investment centre and an artificial intelligence hub, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.
The venture capital centre of OurCrowd Arabia, which was incorporated at Abu Dhabi Global Market in 2021, will manage deals for its existing platform and cater to emerging markets, the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday, during Abu Dhabi Finance Week.
OurCrowd and Adio will also launch Integrated Data Intelligence, an AI hub, which will be based at ADGM's Hub71 start-up centre and is aimed at commercialising AI for businesses, the companies said.
OurCrowd will expand its team at ADGM to 60 over the next four years, as part of a $60 million investment by the company in the emirate.
IDI will develop AI solutions that will help businesses adopt and leverage advanced technology. It will use advanced data automation, AI and machine learning models to reduce costs and improve outcomes for data intensive tasks.
The IDI company will be led by Dr Hasanat Dewan, who has led innovation and technology transformation in an executive capacity for global financial institutions including Etrade, BNY Mellon, Russell Investments Group, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley.
The company said OurCrowd Arabia, led by Sabah al-Binali, would significantly increase its venture capital operations.
OurCrowd's decision to expand its operations in Abu Dhabi comes after an intensive global search, Jon Medved, founder and chief executive of OurCrowd, said.
“The World Economic Forum ranks the UAE first in the world in best e-infrastructure and macroeconomic stability, and the third most-trusted government,” he said.
“These factors, with numerous other advantages including global talent and market access, underscore why Abu Dhabi is now home to OurCrowd Arabia and OurCrowd’s new AI spin-off, and why we will continue to invest in the innovation infrastructure and talent in the country.”
The launch of IDI reinforces Abu Dhabi’s commitment to support the expansion of innovative businesses that contribute to the emirate’s knowledge economy.
The UAE has long championed the critical role digital transformation plays in its economy and society, as the country positions itself as a global hub for innovation.
The Emirates is ranked first in the Middle East in the 2021 edition of the Global Innovation Index, cementing its status among the world’s leading countries in adopting the latest technology.
A host of global technology companies, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Oracle, have flocked to the Emirates to set up centres to support the country's technological push.
Abu Dhabi leads the Middle East in the global smart city index, ranking 28th, according to a 2021 report from the Institute for Management Development and the Singapore University for Technology and Design.
The partnership between Adio and OurCrowd was made through Adio's innovation programme, which supports local and international companies looking to grow in Abu Dhabi.
Adio has awarded OurCrowd a package of financial and non-financial incentives to accelerate its growth in the UAE capital, it said.
“OurCrowd is a great example of a company that has benefited from Abu Dhabi’s enabling ecosystem to achieve accelerated growth,” said Abdulla Al Shamsi, acting director general of Adio.
“OurCrowd has moved from an initial licence to an established market player, with its new investment centre and tech hub bringing additional VC and tech specialism to Abu Dhabi and expanding the availability of solutions and technology to companies.”
In 2021, Adio established an office in Tel Aviv to support Israeli technology companies that seek to establish and expand their operations in the Abu Dhabi.
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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.”
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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A4 35 TFSI
Engine: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed S-tronic automatic
Power: 150bhp
Torque: 270Nm
Price: Dh150,000 (estimate)
On sale: First Q 2020
A4 S4 TDI
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel
Transmission: eight-speed PDK automatic
Power: 350bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh165,000 (estimate)
On sale: First Q 2020
