Abu Dhabi delegation to Israel explores innovation, business opportunities

Abu Dhabi, The Gulf Observer: A delegation of ten Abu Dhabi entities visited Israel from 12-16 February, to discuss business cooperation and innovation opportunities.

Led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), the delegation included Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Abu Dhabi Residents Office (ADRO), Hub71, Abu Dhabi IPO Fund (ADIPOF), Masdar City, KEZAD Group and the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH).

The visit began with a welcome reception at the ADIO Israel office, and was attended by CEOs and senior management from more than 50 leading Israeli companies and ecosystem partners. During the visit, the delegation participated in the 2023 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit, where they hosted the Abu Dhabi Pavilion showcasing business and investment opportunities in the emirate.

Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director-General of ADIO, said, “This visit builds on the collective progress made since the signing of the Abraham Accords, as Abu Dhabi believes in the power of partnership to drive innovation and support sustainable investment opportunities. ADIO looks forward to continuing the conversations started during this visit and working with innovative Israeli companies to explore Abu Dhabi’s limitless growth opportunities.”

During the visit, a strategic partnership between Integrated Data Intelligence (IDI), a subsidiary of OurCrowd and Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, was signed to launch an AI-powered digital platform for Hub71’s Tech Barza initiative. It will provide a customised white label digital fintech platform and operational expertise to Tech Barza’s investor marketplace.

The agreement follows IDI’s Abu Dhabi expansion in November 2022, as part of a US$ 60 million investment by OurCrowd in the emirate in partnership with ADIO.

Commenting on the agreement, OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved said, “We believe this agreement with Hub71 is yet another significant milestone realised from OurCrowd’s long-term commitment and strategy to build out our business in the UAE and across the Middle East. We are very proud to have secured this agreement in such a short time after IDI’s launch. We believe this is strong validation of the decision we have made to build our home in Abu Dhabi. We were particularly excited to have made this joint announcement during OurCrowd’s 10th anniversary Global Investor Summit in Jerusalem together with Hub71.”

Ahmad Alwan, Deputy CEO of Hub71, commented, “As a leading tech startup destination in the Middle East, we have been marshalling multiple investment sources to support the fundraising journeys of founders. By partnering with OurCrowd’s IDI, we are employing a sophisticated digital investment platform that will further enable family offices and angel investors to identify game changing businesses from our community of 200 startups to capture value through our Tech Barza platform.”

Dr. Hasanat Dewan, CEO of IDI, stated, “We are very excited and honoured to have been selected by Hub71 to deliver this highly strategic platform.

Building on the significant technology capabilities that have already been developed for the OurCrowd fintech platform, we intend to provide Hub71 with a next-generation, AI-powered digital platform that will materially advance the startup investment ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and provide seamless access to startups for investors that are part of the Tech Barza community.”

For his part, Dhaher bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, CEO of ADGM Authority, said, “The delegation to Israel further harnesses the underlying bi-lateral relations and economic ties between the two nations following the historic UAE-Israel Abraham Accord. In recent years, ADGM has doubled down on its efforts to leverage the competitive advantages of the UAE and Abu Dhabi and has established a flourishing and dynamic business environment for entrepreneurs and innovators through a robust regulatory framework and by creating vibrant business ecosystems. As an international financial Centre, ADGM encourages aspiring corporates and start-ups to establish their presence in Abu Dhabi, enjoy full ownership of their businesses in a zero-tax environment, secure the vital regulatory recognition, and gain the appropriate capital support and access to top-notch talent for their ambitions to thrive and grow.”

Over the course of the visit, the Abu Dhabi delegation held a series of meetings with Israeli entrepreneurs and investors to explore opportunities for potential collaboration and investment. The delegation also shared insights on the emirate’s thriving startup ecosystem and work to support the growth and development of innovative companies.

Following the Abraham Accords in September 2020, ADIO established an office in Tel Aviv in 2021 to support innovative Israeli companies looking to establish and expand their operations in the UAE capital.

In addition to its partnership with OurCrowd, ADIO recently announced that Israel’s Liquidity Group has joined its Innovation Programme to establish a FinTech R&D centre in Abu Dhabi. Liquidity Group is a pioneering technology firm that has become the industry’s fastest growing lender to mid-market, late-stage companies by automating the entire debt lending cycle.