• High potential startups have collectively raised over AED 231 million in funding
  • New cohort first to benefit from Hub71’s new flexible incentives

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates : Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, has accepted 16 startups to join its growing community as part of accelerating the Emirate’s position as a leading innovation hub. By launching operations in Abu Dhabi, the new startup cohort, which has already raised more than AED 231 million in funding, will have the opportunity to develop advanced technologies and gain access to the market, investment, and talent Hub71 provides.

Hub71 is Abu Dhabi’s largest community of startups, building a vibrant ecosystem of investors, corporations, government, and academia partners to provide tech startups with the essential elements to grow and succeed in the UAE and abroad.

Capitalizing on current market trends, the accepted cohort includes early-stage startups with diverse representation from leading international tech hubs including the UK, USA and South Korea. Among the cohort is Pakistan’s first digital bank, TAG; UAE-based Trade Capital Partners, a platform that boosts access to working capital for startups and small to medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets; and Zywa, the first neobank for teenagers in the Middle East and North Africa region. Also accepted in the cohort is UAE-founded Letswork, an app that allows members to book workspaces and work remotely from hotels, cafes, co-working spaces and other unique venues, as well as Ostaz which offers a private tutoring platform for students to accelerate academic progress.

The new cohort will benefit from Hub71’s accelerator program, structured programs to boost investment potential, and a new range of flexible incentives, that allow founders to choose the level of support based on their startup needs. By joining Hub71, the cohort will gain access to Abu Dhabi’s innovation ecosystem with opportunities to scale and facilitate knowledge exchange. 

Badr Al-Olama, Acting CEO of Hub71, commented: “Our first cohort of the year reflects our ambition of matching our pace with that of global tech startups that have the highest growth potential. What makes Hub71 so different is our founder-centric approach that puts emphasis on building leaders and teams to sustain exponential growth for startups. We believe in nurturing talent, and the entrepreneurs from this cohort seem eager and ready to unleash their potential.”

Since its inception, Hub71’s startups have raised AED 1.5 billion of investment and landed deals worth AED 36 million through the tech ecosystem’s corporate partners, while also generating approximately AED 1.2 billion in revenue. Hub71 offers startups access to an expansive network of strategic partners and investors and provides opportunities to demonstrate their product potential and viability. Since its inception, more than 20 proofs of concepts (POCs) were signed between corporate partners and startups, generating an expected deal value of AED 36 million, as part of creating a launchpad for transformational ideas and ventures in Abu Dhabi.

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Q1 Cohort 2022 Startups

  1. Letswork – Letswork is an app that connects users with workspaces across the UAE via a single membership. Members get to work from hotels, cafes, co-working spaces and other unique venues and enjoy a host of perks at each venue.
  2. Genify - Genify is an AI fintech company helping banks and other FinTech companies bring intelligent features to their consumer-facing offerings, thanks to powerful APIs. We simplify AI for banks.
  3. Zywa - Zywa is the first neo bank for teenagers in MENA. With Zywa app, teenagers can manage money and have a prepaid card. Parents interact with the same app to transfer money & oversee their kids' money habits.
  4. Tickitto – Tickitto provides a B2B marketplace for tickets to live events and cultural experiences so that consumer platforms can start selling tickets to their customers and increase wallet share.
  5. DarDoc - DarDoc provides primary healthcare services that aim to make accessibility of healthcare from anywhere a reality by building cutting-edge software and hardware products.
  6. Trade Capital Partners - Trade Capital Partners is a digital trade finance company that offers working capital solutions to small and medium-sized companies and growth startups in emerging markets using innovative technology and data analytics.
  7. Dtonic Corporation - Dtonic is a big data solution provider specializing in technologies that process Spatio-temporal data quickly and efficiently for various industries such as smart cities, future mobility, etc.
  8. Alliance Care Technologies - Alliance Care Technologies provides analytical and productivity tools to hospitals, physicians, and patients to improve quality, efficiency and patient outcomes across the continuum of care.
  9. MonkiBox - MonkiBox is an award-winning, research-driven early learning subscription program that supports babies’ cognitive and motor development with toys that turn playtime into a learning experience.
  10. FinFlx - FinFlx is the first comprehensive gratuity platform in the MENA region to automate gratuity management, forecasting, and reporting while providing employees access to personalized gratuity savings plans and financial education.
  11. BridgerPay - BridgerPay is a SaaS company that built a bridge between merchants and payment providers to manage multiple payment providers, save failed transactions and cart abandonment.
  12. Erad - Erad is a data-first web platform that allows SMEs to manage revenue and transform monthly recurring revenue into upfront capital.
  13. TAG - TAG is reimagining the essence of banking by equipping and empowering the segments that have long been ignored by brick-and-mortar banks. It is Pakistan's first state-of-the-art digital banking app.
  14. Purpl - Purpl aims to become the partner of choice for the yearly $7BN remittances coming into Lebanon, mostly from the GCC, incorporating digital wallets and connecting Lebanon to the world, one adopter at a time.
  15. Doctoori - Doctoori provides high-quality, reliable, and easily accessible health information in Arabic, that empower people to take charge of their health with clinically accurate and up to date health resources
  16. Ostaz - Ostaz is a digital educational platform that aims at promoting education, improving academic performance and preparing students for a better future.

About Hub71:

Hub71 is Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem that enables founders to build globally enduring homegrown tech companies in any sector by providing access to global markets, a capital ecosystem, a global network of partners, and a vibrant community filled with highly skilled talent, governed by forward-thinking regulation.

Backed by the Government of Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Investment Company, Hub71 is growing its vibrant community of tech startups, investors, government, and corporate partners to ensure the availability of investment, commercial activities, and incentives from the public and private sectors. Through Hub71’s entrepreneurial infrastructure, value-add programs, enabling services and support packages, founders can build, and scale widely adopted technologies with purpose and impact. Hub71 is on a mission to introduce new minds and technologies to Abu Dhabi, finding new ways to build globally enduring technology companies and sustain the nation’s continuous economic development.

For more information visit www.hub71.com and follow us on @Hub71AD #Hub71.

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Arvin Rivera, TechHubEdelman@Edelman.com;