Hi, I'd like to welcome a good friend, Ahmed Ali Awan, who is the CEO of Hub 71.
Ahmed, it's so great to see you.
A little bit of role reversal.
We just, we're able to host you at the New York Stock Exchange on FinTech TV just a couple of weeks ago, and now you're graciously hosting us here at Hub 71.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you so much for being with us, sir.
Well, it's our honor and privilege, and I wanna jump right in.
There is so much energy here.
Hub 71, Impact 2025, all that's happening.
The vibe that's coming out of the community that you created, maybe just kick us off for a minute for our viewers who haven't heard about what you're doing, and give us a little bit of framework of Hub 71.
You know, we're so excited to celebrate a community of uh founders, partners, um, and different individuals, all who had an important role to play in Hub 71's journey.
Uh, we are an initiative that started in 2019 aimed to enable the tech ecosystem out of Abu Dhabi.
We have different programs and initiatives that support startups across the journey.
Our ultimate mission is to create an environment where these companies can grow and contribute to Abu Dhabi's non-oil GDP, but we're really focused on the earlier stage of the journey.
Um, for me, um, innovation and we see is synonymous with impact because these are companies that solve the real.
Um, uh, human problems through technology, so it's always fulfilling to be part of this story, um, and ultimately, also fulfilling to see these companies grow and contribute to the, um, fabric of the economy in Abu Dhabi.
So fast forward today we have a community of more than.
Or about 400 startups, more than 150 partners, all that have supported our mission, our journey, and it's great to see the level of attendance that we have at this, uh, impact.
Well, it speaks volumes to walking the walk and talking the talk.
I think Year of Community was a bit of the theme that I heard about.
And, and it's really the essence where I believe it's maybe 60 countries are represented uh within the companies of Hub 71 and the, you know, in Abu Dhabi there's more than 200 nationalist represented, but yes, we, our founders also, let's say um uh capture some of that where we have more than 60 nationalities represented and I'd say.
Um, yes, it's a year of community. um, we're saying in this event that community is the new capital because it's been such an intangible asset for us at Hub 71, and it's very important for us as we continue to grow and thrive because these are founders, these are people with a shared mission, a shared struggle.
They come here, set up in Abu Dhabi, and we work with them to build this community, nurture it, and continue to grow.
And I think one of the things I started realizing is the power of diversity.
We have.
Such a diverse community from sectors, from different ethnicities all who have chose to make Abu Dhabi home for their technology and innovation, and I hope you get to see it here and this event is such a wide diverse set of people, but all who are bound by shared vision and mission.
Well, it speaks volumes again and seeing it, hearing it, some of the presentations from the startups today, and I want to pull on that thread a little bit of community as the new capital because that seemed to be the essence of so much of what I heard today.
And it is the diversity, the mosaic of what you've been weaving, and I think that comes through that feels like that less intangibles and becoming tangibles as you move across community as capital, and people are valuing the wisdom of the crowd and really what you've created here. uh, definitely, um, um, you know, when I come, uh, and this comes from the founders themselves.
I asked them, it's like, you know, what's really uh uh.
I know it's, uh, interesting to say, but I even, I get surprised by them.
It's like, you know, we love Hub 71.
We love what you guys are doing.
And I asked them, I was like, and my first question is like, why?
Why do you love what you said?
He's like, listen, uh, one, you are such an attentive organization.
We are a community or, or initiative that is proud to, uh, uh, have been, um, doing things for fun.
So we listen to the founders intently and that resonates with the people.
And when you do that, you just attract the people from different parts of the world and it has become, as you rightly mentioned, it has become such a fundamental asset to how we are growing and we're excited to keep owning it.
Ah, if I could squeeze in one more question.
Uh, during the MOU signings yesterday, I was so impressed and intrigued.
I believe it's Hub 71 plus and you're moving into Life Sciences.
Can you share a bit about that?
Yeah, thank you so much, um, uh, for that question.
So, you know, um, I'd say that, um, most tech hubs, how they operate is to facilitate engagement between a network of startups and a network of partners and ensure that there's success between these.
This is what I'd say uh uh tech hubs, even though they have different forms, but this is their.
Um, through NH 71, what we thought is imperative is not only do that usual role of tech hubs of connecting, you know, startups with investors, corporates, etc. but to develop, but to develop deep technology value propositions in certain select ver tickets.
We've done this with digital assets with working with the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the regulator here with the first Abu Dhabi Bank.
We've done this with Climateech with great partners such as um the UICCA um uh and others who are.
Very much invested into or invested in working intoliTech and we've done this with AI.
We launched it at the last Abu Dhabi Finance Week where we got great partners such as Core 42, uh, such as HPE, AWS, Google for startups.
A number of them all came in, uh, with us and, and now with this, uh, more recently working with the investors like, uh, Beco, um, and we were doing the same with with the Life Sciences.
Hub 71 plus Life Sciences is a concentrated initiative for us to develop a.
Clear value proposition for any startup looking to work in the health tech, biotech, life sciences space, wanting to build their business out of here, tapping into a great Abu Dhabi value proposition from the Department of Health, but also a UAE proposition from the Emirates uh drug establishment, but also, um, building on the success of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office launch of their Helm cluster which focuses on health, endurance, longevity, and medicine.
So when we have all of these great initiatives around what we do, what we come in and say, well, let us tap into what makes sense for startups.
We're innovation.
Let us bring in the right companies that would support your missions, develop a program and initiative to soften on these companies.
This is what Top 71 Life Sciences is, and we're very excited to work with our partners, um, uh, on this going forward.
Ahmed, congratulations to you, the Hub 71 team.
The leadership continues.
Always a pleasure to chat with you so much.
