Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City signs up for UAE entrepreneur support programme

Dubai: Masdar City and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) have entered a partnership to support entrepreneurs looking to operate out of UAE.

The initiative will extend support to innovative SMEs (small and medium enterprises), while also collaborating to develop the entrepreneur ecosystem at home and abroad. An extra pillar of the partnership will also see the MBRIF Guarantee Scheme and Innovation Accelerator programmes support Masdar City’s SME development efforts.

The agreement will include development efforts from post-ideation to scale up, as well as provide domain knowledge on matters of funding to entrepreneurs interested in the guarantee scheme. Both entities will also be able to utilize each other’s facilities and technology where possible.

“Innovation is a cornerstone of great business development and growth, with the UAE further strengthening its position as a global hub for the growth of innovative ideas and offerings that propel solutions in a time of unprecedented change,” said Abdulla Balalaa, Executive Director, Masdar City. “Our partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund is another step – and a hugely valuable one – on that growth path. It is our aim to not only cultivate entrepreneurship and economic development in the UAE and further afield but drive it and further it through the immense talent emerging from the region.”