Dubai commits $1bn to technology start-ups amid global volatility squeezing sector
The Dubai Future District Fund has set a $1 billion target for assets under management by the end of 2024, a fourfold increase since it was established in 2021 to invest in technology start-ups.
While a market correction globally is squeezing the technology sector, shrinking valuations and cutting jobs, investment in parts of the Middle East is surging.
Start-ups in the Mena region more than doubled the capital raised year on year in February, with the vast majority of deals done by regional rather than foreign investors, according to industry platform Wamda.
“We’re not here to turn a quick buck,” said Dubai Future District Fund chief executive Sharif El Badawi. The target is to process three to five times the returns in up to 15-year cycles, a longer time scale than the average venture capital investment period, and with an emphasis on deep technology.
It aims to put half of its investments into venture capital funds with a local focus and the other half into start-ups directly or through Future District-affiliated programmes.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said the emirate had become an “international gateway for ambitious investment opportunities, a hub for future-driven project funding and a global test bed for tomorrow’s technology and digital economy applications”.
“The emirate provides the ideal environment for technology ventures to develop the highest standards of agility and transparency and create opportunities for individuals, organisations and societies,” he said on Wednesday.
The fund is designed to increase founders’ access to capital in the region and stimulate the development of technology solutions.
Anchored by the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Dubai Future Foundation, it hosted its inaugural annual meeting on Tuesday, where Mr El Badawi laid out new targets.
The fund intends to have $1.7 billion in equity value in the portfolio by 2025 and $7 billion under management within the next decade.
The aim is to invest in 180 portfolio companies and 55 venture funds with a portfolio worth $43 billion over the next 10 years. The Dubai government expects this to create 185,000 jobs and $20 billion in gross domestic product contribution.
Since its launch 16 months ago, the Dubai Future District Fund has ploughed $28 million into 16 investments, with Mr El Badawi saying it was a slow start to establish governance and operations.
Investment went into 10 start-ups including human resources technology business FinFlx, metaverse-augmented and virtual reality developer Vuz and a concierge health app called Valeo.
In the fund of funds portfolio, regional venture capital funds such as Outliers, Byld Ventures, Shorooq Partners, Cotu Ventures, MEVP and Nuwa Capital all took investments.