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The Symposium is aimed at building awareness, access, and a better understanding of what it takes to become an investor in mission-driven, technology-enabled companies
Abu Dhabi, UAE: startAD, the Abu Dhabi-based global accelerator anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi and powered by Tamkeen, will co-host the sixth edition of Angel Rising with VentureSouq in collaboration with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa). Taking place virtually from November 24-25, the Symposium will focus on Conscious Investing and Catalyzing Technology for Good.
The event will convene global and local thought leaders from the investor and startup communities in order to build awareness, access, and a better understanding of what it takes to become an investor in mission-driven, technology-enabled companies. Open to the public, interested participants who want to learn more about investing in technology startups can register via startad.ae/angelrising.
The event will feature speakers from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, Atlantica Ventures, Spectrum Impact, Flare, Helium Health, and SupplyShift. It will also include live investment opportunities through pitches from global impact startups including a Q&A moderated by seasoned investors. Participating startups are Cycled – a sustainability tech startup from the UAE; Pulse Active Stations - a HealthTech startup from India, Jade Autism - a HealthTech startup from the UAE, Red Sea Farms - a GreenTech startup from KSA, Edama - a waste management startup from KSA, and UrbanKisaan - an AgriTech startup from India.
John Tate, Chief Executive of Tamkeen LLC, the Abu Dhabi partner and backer of startAD, said: “Innovation sits at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s vision and, through startAD, Tamkeen is delighted to have supported over 6000 entrepreneurs and 124 startups to-date. This year’s Angel Rising event is focused on conscious investment and, as such, it is a further example of how both Abu Dhabi and startAD are at the cutting-edge of entrepreneurship, incubation, and training.”
Commenting on the sixth edition of Angel Rising, Research Professor of Engineering, Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship at NYUAD, and Managing Director of startAD Ramesh Jagannathan said: “This year is the right time for Angel Rising to shine a light on the growing trend towards conscious investing – especially amongst the next generation of mission-driven investors from the GCC. Startups are best placed to find new solutions to global challenges, and the recent pandemic has highlighted more than ever that our fates are intertwined. Therefore, it is our shared responsibility as a global community to celebrate pioneering ideas that can make positive contributions to people’s lives. This symposium will demonstrate that there is great potential for emerging technologies that can add real value to society, whilst also providing strong returns on investment.
“Aligned with the UAE’s goals to influence the world for the better, we hope to encourage the path to a tech-enabled business ecosystem and a society that is inclusive, thriving, and sustainable in the long term.”
Angel Rising will mark the culmination of the region’s first six-week virtual Conscious Investor Fellowship (CIF), which has been running since October 7. The Fellowship has trained 30 investors from diverse backgrounds including government funds, family offices, angel groups, corporates, and individuals who have been mentored by key global and local industry experts on investing in impact-driven technology startups.
VentureSouq Founding Partner Sonia Weymuller commented: “The conscious investing space is in its infancy in the region with many still adopting a two-pocket thinking approach to their investment strategies: one pocket for philanthropy, the other for ‘for profit’ investments. We’re here to dispel this. This year’s pandemic and its ramifications have served to accelerate the broader movement towards more conscious thinking when we invest and pressed all of us to reassess how we choose to deploy our capital.”
“Earlier this year we launched the VentureSouq Conscious Collective, a thematic investment platform that chooses to support early-stage ventures globally that harness the power of technology to address today’s immediate societal, economic and environmental challenges. As a complementary endeavor, we partnered with startAD, KAUST, Sheraa, and Hub71 to launch our Conscious Investor Fellowship that focused on nurturing the next generation of mission-driven investors from the region. The culmination of this program is the 6th edition of Angel Rising, which will focus on highlighting strong voices in this space – notable Entrepreneurs, Foundations, Corporates and VCs from around the world who are all laser-focused on solving monumental challenges with their time, their energy and their capital. If you’re interested in gaining insights into the future of investing this is the event to attend this month.”
“Angel Rising has been pioneering conscious investment in the Middle East and KAUST is proud to join this important alliance that is shifting perceptions towards mission-based investment. Over the last 6-weeks we have seen incredible progress from the first cohort of the Conscious Investor Fellows as they explore new types of investment strategies and the impact they can have on our ecosystem,” said Head of KAUST Entrepreneurship Center Hattan Ahmed. “CIF and Angel Rising are a natural fit for KAUST as our mission as a university is focused on finding solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges in areas such as food and water, the environment, clean energy and digital solutions. And that mission extends to actively investing in and supporting entrepreneurs and startups who are working to create new technologies and solve these intractable global issues.”
Over the last five years, Angel Rising has hosted some of the most credible voices worldwide from Acumen, Andreessen Horowitz, AngelList, and Kalaari Capital, among others, and attracted over 1,000 participants, including more than 250 active investors.
For more information about Angel Rising, please visit startad.ae/angelrising
© Press Release 2020
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