Edtech, healthtech business to boom, says acting chief of Hub71

Dubai - MEVP co-led the funding of Saudi Arabia's grocery platform Nana in Series B round to a tune of $18 million.

Coronavirus is impacting everyone and every business, but our startups and founders are proving themselves resilient and natural born problem solvers. Even amidst this challenging time, Hub71's community of startups, VCs and partners are staying connected and deals are still moving forward, said Ibrahim Ajami, Acting CEO of Hub71 and Head of Ventures, Mubadala Capital.

MEVP, a leading Venture Capital firm at Hub71, announced last week that it co-led the funding of Saudi Arabia's leading online grocery platform Nana in their Series B round to a tune of $18 million alongside STV. "Hub71 startups are also finding ways of generating income through projects by supporting businesses who need technology-led solutions during these challenging times," Ajami told Khaleej Times as Hub71 marks completion of its one year anniversary.
With the launch of Hub71, Abu Dhabi-based startups and VCs now have access to more than $500 million in new capital. In its first year, Hub71's startups have raised $36 million since joining ADIO's Venture Fund has funded Hub71 startups and one VC, to a tune of Dh60 million.This pandemic has shown the world that technology can play a positive role in areas such as education, banking, payments, commerce and healthcare.
Disruption can be good for established sectors, especially if it helps keep people and businesses healthy.This is HealthTech's time to shine - while HealthTech businesses have been around for more than a decade, the COVID-19 outbreak makes a case for smarter, predictive, health modelling tools and gives HealthTech startups and digital health companies the chance to scale technologies in telemedicine, personalised drug development and vaccine development.
There is also a spotlight on EdTech businesses - as schools and education turn to remote learning, EdTech startups are stepping up to support parents, teachers and children. The UAE has shown to be quick at adopting EdTech, making the UAE a world-leader in digital e-learning.Industry experts say that the global education technology market will top $40 billion by 2022 and UAE's strong investment in education technology is helping drive this growth.
With the wide range of attractive benefits on offer such as the Hub71 Incentive programme, Corporate Engagement Programme, free Microsoft Reactor Programme for upskilling developers on AI and cloud, Abu Dhabi Investment Office's Venture Fund and multiple Accelerator programs; Hub71 provides immense value to startups and companies who are looking to grow and expand in this region.
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com