Hub71 and Sber Bridge the UAE and Russia tech ecosystems to foster global technology exchange

• Startups in Abu Dhabi and Moscow to benefit from easier access to each market and deal flow exchanges between respective markets
• Joint collaboration reflects Hub71’s ambition to build global startup communities that would benefit from Abu Dhabi’s innovation and technology value proposition

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates : Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, has signed a new partnership with Sber, Russia’s largest commercial bank, providing services to more than 100 million customers and approximately 1 million enterprises and one of the largest digital ecosystem uniting 60+ companies in various industries.
Technology companies, startups, ventures and investors in both the UAE and Russia will benefit from the new partnership, which seeks to establish a tech bridge between the two markets. The partnership aims to increase market access and the long-term commercial potential of innovation-led enterprises. 

In the first half of 2021, investments in Russian startups tripled and exceeded a record $1 billion. Moscow-based Sber is actively extending its reach in the global technology and innovation space. It performs a number of initiatives in the field of education of aspiring entrepreneurs and support of operating technology businesses. One of the flagship projects -is Sber500 was launched in 2018 as an international accelerator program in a collaboration between Sber and 500 Global (500 Startups). The program enables startups to work with Silicon Valley mentors for a period of eight weeks. Graduates are successful both in the Russian and foreign markets.

As part of the agreement, companies participating in the Sber500 program will gain access to Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem at Hub71 where they will benefit from its corporate and government partners and value-driven programs that facilitate greater opportunities to raise funds, and land commercial deals through a more efficient go-to-market outlet. Additionally, Hub71 startups will gain access to Sbers startup community and various programs, providing a launchpad to penetrate the Russian market.. Additionally, Sber and Hub71 will identify mutually beneficial opportunities for tech startups to collaborate with major corporate partners in Russia and the UAE.

Badr Al-Olama, Acting CEO, Hub71, commented: “Our partnership with Sber reflects our shared purpose to accelerate technology-driven solutions and bridge the gap between our two high-growth markets. Hub71 founders now have a clear path to access Russia’s thriving technology and innovation market, where there is a strong talent pool and a lucrative market for robust investment in impactful tech ideas. Importantly, we expect Russia’s leading startups from Series A to C+ to connect directly with innovators, corporations and investment funds in Abu Dhabi. These connections will expand the commercial potential of Russian startups, increase their potential to land big ticket deals and enable founders to produce large-scale innovation in an open and flexible regulatory environment the UAE offers.”  

Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank, said: “Backed by the Government of Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Investment Company, Hub71 provides innovative companies in any sector with access to global markets, capital, and a network of partners. We will make a serious effort to develop cooperation with Hub71 in the interest of leading Russian startups. Essentially, we are creating a technological bridge between the two economies in the interest of the Russian Federation and the UAE. We are set to develop our operations in the Middle Eastern market further, primarily with the participation of our subsidiary Sberinvest Middle East Limited in Abu Dhabi, which has a primary mission to become a key partner in investment deals between Russia and the Middle East..”

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About Hub71: 

Hub71 is Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem that enables founders to build globally enduring homegrown tech companies in any sector by providing access to global markets, a capital ecosystem, a global network of partners, and a vibrant community filled with highly skilled talent, governed by forward-thinking regulation.

Backed by the Government of Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Investment Company, Hub71 is growing its vibrant community of tech startups, investors, government, and corporate partners to ensure the availability of investment, commercial activities, and incentives from the public and private sectors. Through Hb71’s entrepreneurial infrastructure, value-add programs, enabling services and support packages, founders can build and scale widely adopted technologies with purpose and impact. Hub71 is on a mission to introduce new minds and technologies to Abu Dhabi, finding new ways to build globally enduring technology companies and sustain the nation’s continuous economic development.

About Sber:

PJSC Sberbank is Russia’s largest bank and a leading global financial institution. Holding almost one-third of aggregate Russian banking sector assets, Sberbank is the key lender to the national economy and one of the biggest deposit takers in Russia. The Government of the Russian Federation represented by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation is the principal shareholder of PJSC Sberbank owning 50% plus one voting share of the bank’s authorized capital, with the remaining 50% minus one voting share held by domestic and international investors. Sberbank has customers in 18 countries. The bank has a major distribution network in Russia with about 14,000 branches, while its international operations – subsidiary banks, branches, and chapters – include the UK, US, CIS, Central and Eastern Europe, India, China, and other countries. It holds general banking license No. 1481 dd. August 11, 2015, from the Bank of Russia. Official websites of the bank: www.sberbank.com (Sberbank Group website), www.sberbank.ru. 

In 2020 Sberbank underwent a rebranding, offering financial and non-financial services of the bank and Sberbank Group to individual and corporate customers. Today, the Sber ecosystem is a raft of services for life and daily assistance in handling pressing everyday issues for individual customers and businesses. The Sber ecosystem website: www.sber.ru.  

Media contacts: 
Hub71: TechHubEdelman@Edelman.com
Sber: media@sberbank.ru 

For more information visit www.hub71.com 

© Press Release 2021