Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, announces the second edition of its Abu Dhabi Decoded webinar series that will focus on Abu Dhabi’s business-friendly environment designed for tech startups, entrepreneurs and global companies of the future.
The webinar series, in association with Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, ADDED, Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM, Abu Dhabi Investment Office, ADIO, and Ghadan 21, returns on Thursday, November 12th for the second session, titled ‘Abu Dhabi Decoded: An Environment Fit for Global Companies of the Future’.
The session will focus on Abu Dhabi’s enabling business environment, progressive regulatory framework and its unwavering commitment to AI and digital innovation. The discussion, aimed at international startups and investors, will also cover Abu Dhabi’s robust legal system and enabling licensing regime, designed to suit global tech startups and digitally focused businesses seeking to relocate to the UAE’s capital.
Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and Chairman of ADGM, commented, "As an International Financial Centre and ecosystem enabler, we provide a well-established and modern business infrastructure and a holistic regulatory environment that support financial institutions, companies, startups, and SMEs to operate, innovate and grow seamlessly in the UAE and across the MENA region.
"The Abu Dhabi Decoded initiative offers a strategic platform for the global tech community to gain clearer insights of what Abu Dhabi and the UAE offer as a world-class tech hub, and a better understanding of the wide opportunities that startups and entrepreneurs can leverage to thrive and succeed."
Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, said, "As a pioneering nation, we have set out to build an enterprising culture that harnesses technology and innovation to drive our digital transformation and future economy for the benefit of entrepreneurs, startups and the private sector alike.
"We welcome Hub71’s initiative that encourages greater collaboration between all key players of Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem in order for us to truly represent the tremendous amount of digital resources and advanced capabilities our economy can offer the world."
Mohamed Abdelhameed Al Askar, Director General of Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, said, "With a fundamental priority to lead Abu Dhabi’s digital transformation, the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority is pleased to work alongside other leading global tech enablers for such an important discussion.
"Abu Dhabi’s digital transformation is accelerating at great pace, thanks to the unlimited support of our wise leadership and the close collaboration between all government entities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In fact, Hub71’s Abu Dhabi Decoded series is timely and important as it demonstrates to international entrepreneurs and tech companies that we have made it our utmost priority to harness technology to drive digital processes that makes operating in the UAE’s capital a seamless experience."
As the UAE emerges as a hotbed for entrepreneurship with an advanced banking ecosystem, Hub71 worked with UAE banks to pioneer new banking solutions designed specifically to help tech startups seamlessly open bank accounts and conduct business. Last week, a closed roundtable organised by Hub71 brought together leading financial services companies, regulators, startups and investors to collaborate on ways to enhance the UAE’s digital framework.
To simplify processes and become more startup-friendly, regulators including ADGM, and banks such as Mashreq Bank, agreed to work more closely to further modernize their frameworks and processes to address digitalization and enhance the user experience for entrepreneurs in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. More than 300 startups have taken advantage of ADGM's Tech Startup License which enables entrepreneurs to set up in the UAE quickly and easily.
Hanan Harhara Al Yafei, CEO of Hub71, added, "The inaugural Abu Dhabi Decoded webinar attracted almost 800 viewers from around the world, who tuned in for an engaging discussion on cultivating cross-collaboration opportunities between government, corporates and global startups to create access to market opportunities. With this distinguished panel, I fully expect our second session to be an even bigger success, full of fascinating insights that will reinforce just how internationally focused, digitally prepared and business friendly Hub71 and Abu Dhabi really is.
"We found that startups and entrepreneurs previously faced lengthy wait times to open bank accounts, and despite finding a solution to dramatically improve the time taken, this is an important conversation to continue. As a collaborative community driven by its founders, we believe that the architects behind Abu Dhabi’s tech hub will persuade startups, entrepreneurs and investors that Hub71 is an ideal springboard for their business expansion."
Moderated by John Defterios, Emerging Markets Editor at CNN, the session will include Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications; Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State and Chairman of ADGM; Mohamed Al Askar, Director General, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority; Dhaher bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, CEO, Registration Authority, ADGM; Jean Francois Gauthier, Founder & CEO of Startup Genome and Ramez T. Shehadi, Managing Director of Facebook MENA.
Abu Dhabi Decoded is a webinar series that invites the capital’s leaders in the public and private sectors to discuss Abu Dhabi’s burgeoning startup technology scene and the growth opportunities for international entrepreneurs and startups stemming from the government’s efforts to drive innovation.
Viewers will receive the unique opportunity to engage with the most influential decision makers behind Abu Dhabi’s thriving tech scene and open and flexible legal and regulatory framework in the 60-minute session.
