• Hub71 and Modus will expand their venture programme “Ventures Lab” to include  28 founding teams, which is almost a 65 per cent increase from last year. To date, Hub71 and Modus have successfully raised Dh40 million ($10.8 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 last year to support early-stage founders from around the world to develop scalable startups from Abu Dhabi. 
• As part of the programme, up to $450,000 is allocated to each startup.

Press release:

Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, and Modus, the Venture Platform comprising VC 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 almost a 65% increase from last year. To date, Hub71 and Modus have successfully 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 program 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 onboarded to the program 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 program 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 in 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 trialled 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 their 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 program 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 US$450,000 allocated to each startup during the program.

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 program to put more startups in the best position to succeed long-term.”

Kareem Elsirafy, the 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 programs to position founders for commercial opportunities and increased fundraising potential, allowing them to capture growth opportunities and fulfil their ambition. Since its inception, Hub71 startups raised AED 3.2 billion from renowned investors globally and generated AED 2.7 billion in revenues.