UAE-India Investment Forum: Indian businesses can thrive in UAE's innovation-driven landscape, say experts

With UAE-India relations reaching a new peak with Cepa, business leaders in the public and private sectors are setting their sights on the massive, future-proof opportunities that the agreement will create for companies in the two countries.

The UAE has a robust infrastructure ready for Indian companies looking to expand their businesses, said Sameh Al Qubaisi, director-general for economic affairs at Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.

“Our government has invested heavily in a lot of companies during the pandemic. If you want to come and scale up your business, we have the capital markets and the financial innovations for it and we have the credit ratings as a country. If you as an entrepreneur or as a company are looking for capital and upscaling, then Abu Dhabi is the right place to come into, given the proximity to India,” Al Qubaisi said during the UAE-India Investment Forum held in Dubai on Tuesday.

He pointed out that in the country, there is a pipeline of innovative and non-traditional ways to work and expand businesses — and the virtual asset ventures are an example. “We are looking at crypto and the virtual assets and the democratisation of different asset classes,” Al Qubaisi said, stressing that the country is seeking to position itself as a crypto-asset hub.

Ideal environment for startups

Cepa provides a futuristic, ambitious and holistic coverage of a wide range of sectors, experts said at the forum.

For Prakash Hinduja, chairman of Hinduja Group, there should be a sharp focus on cooperation in emerging areas.

“The main area is startup companies. (Indian) startups should have more presence in Dubai, so that they can get financial support in a significant way,” Hinduja said during the event.

A top official of the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) stressed that the UAE is, indeed, a leading destination for different startups.

Ghanim Mohammad Al Falasi, senior vice-president for technology and entrepreneurship at the DSOA, said: “The country is aligned with a certain ecosystem around technology. We are taking each vertical as a full-fledged ecosystem. It will help us a lot in seeing if a start up in India is the same as we have in DSOA (Silicon Oasis).”

Silicon Oasis, he said, can provide entrepreneurs with an ideal environment from where they can take their businesses to new heights.

“We are about to open our entrepreneurial education as well, which will help open doors for commencing startup economies and maybe venture into different ideas from there,” Al Falasi said.

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The DSOA is also inspiring students to start their own businesses. “We want to attract more educational entities from India whether online or physical, to open their entrepreneurial channels here. An exchange programme can happen where students can either go or students can come here to gauge their startup programmes. Companies can come and see and test the environment in Dubai and if they want to start their businesses here, they can decide to stay or pivot their way of working, Al Falasi said.

nandini@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai