The FUTURE100, the joint initiative between the Ministry of Economy and the Government Development and the Future Office, has attracted new strategic partnerships to support the top 100 emerging companies that contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the future of the economic sectors, which include CSR UAE, Microsoft, Careem and FTI Consulting.
Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, and Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and The Future, witnessed the signing of the strategic partnership agreements during the Investopia 2023 Summit taking place in Abu Dhabi.
Competitive incentives
The new partnerships will achieve the initiative’s objectives aimed at enhancing the readiness for the future, strengthening the UAE’s position as a destination for new economy companies, encouraging investment in future economy, accelerating business growth in promising new sectors, as well as providing a conducive business environment for the future of the economic sectors.
The first set of partnerships provides competitive advantages, incentives, and facilities to enable entrepreneurs and emerging companies to establish future economy companies, expand their business reaching global markets, and develop their network of relationships for greater opportunities.
Al Marri stated that the Investopia summit supports innovative startups based on modern technology across various sectors, with the aim to solidify the UAE’s global position as an attractive destination for future projects and a permanent hub for creativity and innovation, reflecting the directives of the UAE leadership to establish an economic model based on knowledge and innovation, in line with the principles of the 50 and the UAE Centennial 2071 goals.
He added, “The ‘Future 100’ initiative, recently launched in collaboration with the Government Development and the Future Office, seeks to support 100 companies that have the potential to shape the UAE’s future economy in the coming years. It will achieve this goal by highlighting top 100 emerging companies, annually. Investopia will play a key role in supporting the UAE government’s efforts in order to enhance the competitiveness of national future economy sectors. The summit will also contribute to the mobilisation of local and foreign investments, especially in space industries, AI, renewable energy, and others, thus driving the national economy’s sustainable development and promoting its global competitiveness.”
Readiness for the future
Al Roumi remarked that FUTURE100 initiative is a proactive step that enhances the readiness of companies for the future in new sectors, aiming to keep pace with future trends and rapid global transformations.
She affirmed that the UAE has achieved economic excellence for more than half a century due to its wise leadership, and today the country is working on designing the future of the new economy to take advantage of promising opportunities and respond to challenges efficiently and quickly leveraging flexible business models, to support creative entrepreneurs, and to accelerate the growth of new sectors.
The Minister further explained that the first list of 100 companies from the future will be announced on the World Futures Day, marked on the second of December 2023, coinciding the UAE’s National Day, added that “FUTURE100 initiative strengthens the UAE’s position as a global hub in future economy, to attract leading entrepreneurial projects and global competencies, in line with the directives of the UAE leadership and ‘We the UAE 2031′ vision to create success stories in the future economy and export the new economy companies to global markets.”
Al Roumi highlighted the Government Development and the Future Office role, in working with its strategic partners to achieve the initiative’s vision to create an incubating environment for the future economy and provide promising future opportunities for companies in new sectors.
Nuha Safar, Director of CSR UAE, said, “The CSR vision is to make the UAE a global driver of Sustainable Impact. The heart of a sustainable country and economy predominantly comes from the sustainability of its businesses. Building on the announcement of the Year of Sustainability, we are committed to advancing the agenda of supporting SME’s towards a sustainable future, designing frameworks to recognise and accelerate these businesses through Future 100.”
Naim Yazbeck, General Manager of Microsoft UAE, stated, “we are honoured to become part of this initiative. Start-ups are vital for the professional development of the UAE: they foster innovation, create jobs, and contribute to the diversification of the economy. At Microsoft, we have been supporting budding enterprises through a variety of tools as well as tailored skilling and learning programs for decades and initiatives such as the FUTURE100 Partnership help bring a real sense of scale to these efforts. We look forward to the great innovation that will come out of this programme.”
Mudassir Sheikha, CEO and Co-Founder at Careem, commented, “The Future 100 initiative is creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to solve big problems and drive impact in important economic sectors such as emerging technology. These efforts will make the UAE an even more competitive destination for entrepreneurship and help unlock potential and nurture innovation in support of building a secure future for the region. Careem is proud to support the initiative by providing mentorship and access to the Careem platform.”
Vikas Papriwal Senior Managing Director, Leader of FTI Consulting Middle East and Africa, said, “As an inaugural partner of the “Future 100” initiative we are proud to continue our commitment to the UAE. The UAE is leading the way in shaping the future economy and we are happy to play our part in this journey. At FTI Consulting, we pride ourselves on being experts with impact. As a partner of “Future 100” we look forward to using our expertise as a catalyst for the growth of ‘Future economy’ SMEs in the UAE.”
FUTURE100 initiative aims to support the new economic sectors that will shape the national future economy, including the start-ups sector due to its contribution to the national economy and being one of the main goals on the UAE government’s main agenda. The initiative also celebrates the successes of the private sector in the UAE being a pivotal partner in the development process.
The ‘FUTURE100’ initiative is open to companies and entrepreneurs who wish to benefit from it. Applications can be submitted by visiting the website
http://future100.ae/ before June 30, 2023. The evaluation process will begin at a later stage.
Source: Emirates News Agency
