Sharjah 24 – WAM: Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Dubai Securities and Exchange Higher Committee, Monday launched the Dubai Future District Fund, with an initial purse of AED1 billion, along with the Fund’s website, www.futuredistrictfund.com.
The move is part of the Dubai Future District’s (DFD) ongoing efforts to support start-ups in the field of technology and encourage them to list in the Dubai Financial Markets and stock exchange.
The Fund, an initiative of the Dubai Securities and Exchange Higher Committee, will focus on supporting efforts to implement the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to establish 1,000 tech companies in the country within five years and increase startup investments from AED1.5 billion to AED4 billion.
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed said: "Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to support the digital economic sector, we launched today the AED1 billion Dubai Future District Fund to invest in startups."
He added: "The Fund aims to realise the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to establish 1,000 tech companies in the next five years, by supporting Dubai’s digital economy and companies that adopt future technologies and develop new economic sectors of the future."
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed stressed that the Dubai Future District Fund supports national efforts and strategies aimed at enabling entrepreneurs to reach new horizons, realise Dubai’s aspirations for the new economy, and contribute to enhancing the emirate’s status as a preferred destination for global talent that offers an integrated investment environment and exceptional facilities.
Sheikh Maktoum also approved the appointment of Sharif El-Badawi as CEO of the Dubai Future District Fund. In this role, the new CEO will drive efforts to support Dubai’s development into a destination for regional and global technology startups and boost its position as a hub for talent and game-changing ideas.
As an enabler of Dubai Future District’s other initiatives, the Fund seeks to fill a funding gap in the MENA venture capital (VC) market by investing in technology startups in the early stages of growth. It aims to invest in local and regional funds, as well as attract leading international VC funds to establish a presence in Dubai.
The Dubai Future District Fund seeks to build an innovation-driven start- up ecosystem to enhance the global competitiveness of Dubai’s future economy. As part of its mandate, it will invest in a range of key initiatives, including Dubai Future Accelerators, DIFC FinTech Hive and Venture Builder Studios.
The Fund is ideally positioned to attract start-ups from the MENA region and beyond that can develop innovative solutions for future local, regional and global challenges. It will also support the scale-up of top-performing start-ups through growth capital and follow-on rounds of investment and attract VC firms to Dubai through a fund of funds programme.
To achieve its objectives, the Fund will leverage emerging technologies, such as AI, cybersecurity, blockchain, data analytics, software-as-a-service (SaaS)/platform-as-a-service (PaaS), cloud solutions, 5G, IoT, augmented reality and robotics.
The Dubai Future District Fund has named Sharif El-Badawi as its CEO, who will play a pivotal role in quickly ramping up the team and executing the Fund’s strategy of contributing to the economy of the future.
Sharif El-Badawi was a founding Managing Partner of Plus Venture Capital (+VC), one of the leading seed stage investment firms in the Middle East and North Africa region. Previously, he co-founded and managed the first US-based venture capital firm with a dedicated fund for the MENA region. In his role, he managed the startup MENA fund, 500 Falcons, which has invested in over 180 startups across 15 countries.
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