Is Abu Dhabi The Next Big Destination For Indian Startups?

Startups looking to scale their business and venture into the international market have perfect playing ground, with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) reaching out to Indian startups to diversify the local economy away from oil and gas. 

The government body is in discussions with businesses that are active in industries like biotechnology, financial services, tourism, agriculture technology, and ICT.

What is ADIO's Innovation Programme? 

ADIO's 'Innovation Programme', which has a budget of $545 million, has already supported more than 50 companies across the US, Europe, and Asia. The partnerships have been extended to three Indian firms: FreshToHome, ANSR, and Talent500. The program provides financial and non-financial incentives to innovation-driven businesses in high-growth areas.

To further attract investors and companies, ADIO set up eight new offices in Tel Aviv, New York, San Francisco, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Beijing, and Seoul last year. Abu Dhabi is one of the richest regions in the Middle East and is home to some of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which has also been increasing its investments in technology and disruptive startups.

In India, ADIA has been actively growing its investments, with the latest being $500 million in the eyewear chain Lenskart. It has also invested in several other homegrown firms, including startups and funds such as DealShare, Greenko Energy Holdings, Kotak Mahindra group, HDFC Capital, and Intas Pharmaceuticals.

The Abu Dhabi government, with the support of ADIO, Mubadala Investment Company, and Abu Dhabi Global Markets, has established 'Hub71' as a global tech ecosystem to help founders access capital, global markets, and a network of partners to build tech enablers.

In 2021, ADIO announced more than AED500 mn ($136 million) in incentives to bring global agrotech innovators to Abu Dhabi. Additionally, the Abu Dhabi government has established a Yas Creative Hub as the entertainment and media zone for incoming residents. The Abu Dhabi Residents Office, under the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, has also been set up to support the integration and harmonization of the international community with the local culture and society, and to take care of families' healthcare and education. 

What is ADIO offering? 

To encourage enterprises in the emirate's high-growth industries, ADIO introduced the AED 2 billion ($545 million) Innovation Programme in 2020. This comprises, among other things, financial services, travel, agritech, ICT, and health care & biopharma.

The government's efforts to draw businesses and investors to Abu Dhabi are part of a larger plan to diversify the local economy and lessen reliance on fossil fuels. The government wants to build a sustainable and diversified economy that will benefit the area and its people by working with startups and investing in creative enterprises.

Other initiatives that provide a favorable environment for startups include Free registration and license fees for new businesses and freelancers for two years, the UAE's Golden Visa, which offers long-term residency to investors/innovators and decreases in business setup and license renewal fees by over 90% to AED 1,000 in 2021.

For business competencies including initiative, management, leadership, strategy, operations, and communication, the UAE was placed second globally. 

So if you are a startup looking to venture abroad, Abu Dhabi might be the perfect setting.