The Finance World Magazine| Edition: April 2023

Funding and Investment News
Abu Dhabi Invests in
World’s Largest Cargo
Drone for UAE Headquarters
Dronamics, the world’s largest
cargo drone airline, has
secured funding from the
Strategic Development Fund
(SDF), backed by Abu Dhabi, in a preseries
A funding round. The funding,
which raised $40M from venture capital
funds and angel investors across 12
countries, will enable Dronamics to
expand its capacity and establish
operations in the UAE as one of the
main hubs for the Middle East and North
Africa region. The SDF’s investment
is the first step in creating a joint
venture with Dronamics to establish
a manufacturing and operations base
in the UAE, with additional significant
investment to follow.
Ruwad Increases Direct Financing Ceiling by Over
100%
Ruwad, a Sharjah-based foundation
that supports entrepreneurship,
has increased its
funding for pilot projects by
more than 100% for the current year.
The funding has been raised from AED
2.5M in 2022 to AED 6M, with the aim of
enabling entrepreneurs to expand their
projects and take advantage of available
opportunities in various fields. This
move is in line with Ruwad’s objective
of supporting citizens of the emirate
to enhance their contribution to the
national economy. The decision was
taken during a meeting of the Foundation’s
Project Finance Committee,
attended by senior officials including
Sultan Abdullah bin Hadda Al Suwaidi
and Hamad Ali Abdullah Al Mahmoud.
Hub71 and Investible team up to expand venture
capital access for startups
Start-up Funding in
Smaller MENA Countries
Reaches $468M
in 2022
According to a report by Magnitt,
start-up funding in smaller
Middle East and North
African (MENA) countries
has surged to $468M in 2022, compared
to $176M in 2021. The report
identified several factors contributing
to the growth, including increased
interest from international investors,
the emergence of new incubators and
accelerators, and more favourable government
policies. Among the smaller
MENA countries, Lebanon saw the
most significant increase, with funding
rising from $11M in 2021 to $116M in
2022. Other countries seeing significant
growth include Oman, Bahrain,
and Kuwait.
72 www.thefinanceworld.com April 2023
Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem,
Hub71, has teamed up with
Asia-Pacific venture capital
firm Investible to expand the
access to venture capital for early-stage
startups and tech companies in the
UAE capital. Startups at Hub71 will
get access to Investible’s Early-Stage
Funds, worth approximately AUD180m
under management, as well as its global
network of over 130 high-net-worth
investors in Club Investible. The partnership
will also provide mentorship
programmes and events for founders
scaling early-stage startups. Additionally,
ClimateTech startups will benefit
from Investible’s Climate Tech Fund
and Global Climate Tech Strategy, and
will work with a team of investment,
climate, and sustainability experts.