ABU DHABI – Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, and Modus, the venture platform made up of venture capital funds, venture builders, and a corporate innovation arm, will expand Ventures Lab, the venture building program, by increasing the next intake to 28 founding teams, which is nearly 65% more than last year.
To date, Hub71 and Modus have raised AED40 million for founding teams to co-build startups and access capital through Ventures Lab.
Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem and Modus launched Ventures Lab one year ago to support early-stage founders from around the world to develop successful and scalable startups from Abu Dhabi.
The nine-month programme enables founders to work with Modus to co-build ideas into operational companies, while testing and validating product-market fit and developing Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) that are market-ready. Startups on-boarded to the programme will also benefit from Hub71’s vibrant community of entrepreneurs, funds, and corporate and government partners.
Ventures Lab has attracted almost 1,700 applications from entrepreneurs seeking to build startups through the venture builder, with over 60% of those accepted into the programme being Emirati Nationals or female founders.
Fit on Click, a UAE-based fitness, wellness and sports solution provider, successfully closed a funding round as part of Ventures Lab, raising $1.5M in Pre-Series A funding. Other successes include Koble, a UK-based AI-powered platform that supports investors with making better investment decisions, which is finalizing a seven figure Pre-Seed funding round.
Meanwhile, Oscar, a sustainability-focused procurement company created and developed at Ventures Lab, is now being trialed by large stakeholders and is in talks to close significant distribution deals in the region. Mayadin, an online booking platform for sports venues across the UAE, also built its MVP and launched out of Ventures Lab and is starting to onboard some of the most prominent and in-demand venues in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The remaining startups in the programme are operating in stealth mode and will be launching soon.
The companies built are diversified across several sectors, including FinTech, HealthTech, CleanTech, SportsTech, EdTech, and Artificial Intelligence, with up to $450,000 allocated to each startup during the programme.
Peter Abou Hachem, Head of Strategy & Product at Hub71, said, “Ventures Lab is truly gaining traction in the Abu Dhabi market that is ripe with opportunity for game changing concepts and disruptive business models. Partnering with Modus is benefiting founders with the right level of support needed to co-build their MVPs, improve their product-market fit and launch their businesses, which is why we’re expanding the programme to put more startups in the best position to succeed long-term.”
Kareem Elsirafy, Managing Partner at Modus, commented, “Hub71 has built an incredible and supportive tech ecosystem that has been integral to taking our venture-built companies to the next level. Ventures Lab provides a critical support system and safety net to founders with its operations heavy approach, providing substantial value to all onboarded companies and founders. We look forward to working alongside Hub71 and our founders to build even bigger, better, and game-changing startups in the year ahead.”
Hub71 has created a vibrant ecosystem of venture capital funds and global and local tech companies. The tech ecosystem is designing value-driven programmes to position founders for commercial opportunities and increased fundraising potential, allowing them to capture growth opportunities and fulfill their ambition.
Since its inception, Hub71 startups raised AED3.2 billion from renowned investors globally and generated AED2.7 billion in revenues.
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