Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 and Masdar City partner to foster sustainability

10X Technology

Mita Srinivasan
10X Technology
Published:

Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 and Masdar City partner to foster sustainability

Agreement gives Hub71’s existing start-ups access to Masdar City’s corporate tenants and partners and explore incentives to help these companies establish permanent roots in the UAE. The two entities will identify opportunities to collaborate in areas including mobility, food, health, and climate action.

Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s sustainable urban community and innovation hub, has strengthened ties with Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem, to promote opportunities for clean tech and climate tech start-ups focused on sustainability. The two entities will identify opportunities to collaborate in areas including mobility, food, health, and climate action.

The two will also promote knowledge sharing by providing Hub71’s existing start-ups access to Masdar City’s corporate tenants and partners and explore incentives to help these companies establish permanent roots in the UAE. The agreement also names Hub71 Masdar City’s official start-up ecosystem partner.

Ahmed Baghoum, the acting CEO of Masdar City, said, “As one of the world’s most sustainable cities and a hub for innovation, research, and development, we share Hub71’s vision for providing start-ups with an ideal environment to scale technologies that will have a sustainable impact globally. Together, we will work toward the UAE’s mission to achieve net zero.”

H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, announced that 2023 will be the year of sustainability. Masdar City hopes that partnerships like this one with Hub71 will be a vital component of bringing this vision to life and demonstrate their shared commitment to advancing the UAE economy through ambitious, tech-focused enterprises.

Hub71 start-ups will also benefit from The Catalyst, the Middle East region’s first start-up accelerator focused on sustainability and clean tech, jointly owned by Masdar City and BP. The Catalyst and Hub71 will work together to develop a sector-focused accelerator program to enhance the benefits available to climate tech start-ups, including finance.

Baghoum pointed out that the joint effort from all three entities will provide start-ups a platform to scale their cleantech innovation, provide access to shareholder networks, and prepare them to showcase their capabilities at COP28.

Hub71 has supported over 200 start-ups that have collectively raised more than US$1 billion in funds since its launch in 2019. It recently onboarded another 20 startups from six countries operating in different strategic sectors.