Sabine Lanjock
TechInAfrica – Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, will invest $250 million in the start-up of technology companies in the Middle East and North Africa MENA region. The Tech Fund, which was announced by Mudala, the investment arm of the State of Abu Dhabi, is part of the Hub initiative71.
Hub71 is a community of founders, investors and business facilitators who form a unique technological ecosystem strategically located in Abu Dhabi.
The platform provides young companies in the MENA region with access to capital, the business environment and global market entry. In addition to the United Arab Emirates government, the hub is also supported by SoftBank and Microsoft.
Ibrahim Ajami, head of venture capital at Mudala Capital, said the fund will create a new chapter for companies in the region and will support the course of technological inventions. It will also accelerate the growth of major global technologies in the region.
MENA technology funds will build on Mudala’s ten years of experience in investing in technology companies worldwide. As a joint investor in the Hub71 initiative, Soft Bank has also committed $1.5 billion in Softbank Vision Fund I to support technology start-ups such as Uber WeWork and Slack.
Prior to the creation of the technology fund, Mudala invested $770 million in equity investments of US chip manufacturer Advanced Micro Devices in 2017, although the company was sold a few months after its investment.
The introduction of the fund will therefore increase its interest in the technology space while providing funds to start-up companies in Africa.
Source : www.techgistafrica.com/news
