A venture capital fund in Dubai aims to financially support startups
The Crown Prince of Dubai has launched a venture capital fund that provides financial support to startups and businessmen. It started operating last month, with a capital of $100 million. The fund will exist for 8 years, but there is a possibility to extend its activity for another 2 years.
It is expected that the project of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum will create more than 8 thousand jobs and will focus on beginning businessmen. One of the fund’s tasks is to develop an integrated system for investing in startups, which will provide several options for cooperation.
The Dubai International Financial Center has taken over the management of the fund, and it has also become one of the participants in the project, investing 15% of the total funds in its capital.
First of all, the venture fund is focused on representatives of small and medium-sized businesses. The organization will provide them with financial support, as well as assistance in entering new markets. The key task of the fund is to promote the economic diversification of startups in their development, as well as to stimulate their growth.
Experts suggest that the fund’s activities will have a positive impact on Dubai’s budget. It is expected that the new project will bring about $1 billion, and what is important – it will allow the emirate to declare itself once again as a center with a high level of financial technology and business development. It should be noted that Dubai is actively creating conditions to attract venture capital and investors from around the world. Businessmen are attracted by promising projects offered by local startups.
The launch of the venture capital fund is another step in the UAE’s strategy to develop the innovation sector in the kingdom. At the beginning of the year, the UAE authorities announced a new program to develop unicorn startups. The government plans to grow 20 such projects worth more than $1 billion by 2031.
The Entrepreneur Nation program involves the creation of alliances between private businesses and government agencies that will aim to finance and comprehensively support startups. As part of the initiative, the following projects will be implemented:
1. SkillUp, which will train the Emirati population to develop their business skills.
2. StartUp helps newcomers – firms that are just starting their way in the UAE market or other countries. The project supports them at every stage of their development.
3. ScaleUp is a platform for startups, which helps promising projects reach their potential. It aims to develop a startup to unicorn status.
UAE authorities hope that such a program will encourage young people to start their own businesses and bring their unique ideas to life.
