Seven start up companies from six different sectors set up at Hub 71

Abu Dhabi: Hub 71 on Thursday announced that seven start-up companies will be moving their operations to the global tech hub based in Abu Dhabi.

The seven companies come from a range of different sectors specialising in areas such as fintech, health tech, travel tech, artificial intelligence, blockchain and social impact. The companies will now join with four other start ups that were announced in June, bringing the total number of companies setting up at Hub 71 to 11.

“We are proud to welcome seven new start-ups that are focused on building innovative products and businesses at Hub71. We are seeing more and more Emirati nationals becoming entrepreneurs, innovating and taking risks to pursue their dreams,” said Mahmoud Adi, chief executive officer of Hub71.

The founders of the seven start up companies also come from a range of different nationalities including Emiratis, Asians as well as Americans. Basil Al Askari, the Emirati cofounder of MidChains — a fintech company and a regulated digital asset trading platform — said that moving the company to Hub 71 was an easy choice thanks to all the available tools to help the business grow.

“Having searched the world for a financial centre that was fit for our growing business and regulatory requirements, and as an Emirati national, I’m immensely proud to learn that Hub71 truly offers one of the world’s most competitive tech ecosystems.

“Hub71’s tech community and free office space made our growth plans possible. Having immediate access to a wider ecosystem of enablers was another essential element; especially for MidChains, a fintech company, which needs to operate globally right from the start,” Al Askari added.

All companies based in Hub 71 will benefit from a range of incentives including subsidised housing, office space and health insurance plans for the company owners and its employees. The packages will see companies saving Dh3.5 million in expenses.

Launched by the Abu Dhabi government back in March, Hub 71 is a Dh1 billion initiative aimed at supporting start up companies in the technology sector. Some of the major groups supporting Hub 71 include Mubadala Investment Company, Microsoft, SoftBank Vision Fund and Abu Dhabi Global Market.

Speaking to Gulf News in June, Adi said that Hub 71 was looking to have at least 30 to 40 start up companies joining by the end of 2019, with most of them coming from the Middle East region.