Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem powered by Mubadala Investment Company, has joined forces with France-based Bpifrance to boost joint efforts to encourage innovation and collaboration between their respective homegrown startups.
The partnership with Bpifrance, France’s national investment bank, will pave the way for both entities to explore the viabilities of new programs involving select startups in the France and Abu Dhabi tech ecosystems.
The best startups from these carefully selected pools will then be granted access to mentorship, as well as partnership and investment opportunities, among other perks.
Hub71 and Bpifrance have agreed to undertake multiple programs with each aimed at developing new and innovative technology products designed for the France and UAE markets. There is also a separate provision in the partnership whereby both entities can jointly invest in promising startups.
“Bpifrance shares our long-term commitment of promoting entrepreneurship, ensuring French startups can arrive in Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 and use our dynamic ecosystem as a springboard to the prosperous Middle East and North Africa region,” said Hanan Harhara Al Yafei, CEO at Hub71, while reacting to this new development.
Nicolas Dufourcq, CEO at Bpifrance, chipped in by saying, “France is a hotbed for tech innovation with a deep talent pool, world-class universities, and research institutions, and with 10,000 startups in various sectors, the French startup scene is thriving.
The Bpifrance CEO also noted that the partnership with Hub71 comes with a high value-proposition that will eventually help Abu Dhabi startups to thrive in France.
