DUBAI, 1st July, 2020 (WAM) -- DMCC, the worlds flagship Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise, and Innoway, a Chinese platform established by the Beijing and Haidian Government, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, to increase collaboration in the tech sector between the UAE and China, and usher in a new wave of innovation to Dubai.

DMCC will serve as Innoways foothold in the region, supporting them with the development of an incubation and acceleration programme that attracts Chinese innovators, entrepreneurs and tech start-ups to Dubai.

"Dubai has an ambitious innovation agenda, which is driven by government and accelerated by the private sector. Innovation is in Dubais DNA and so too is collaboration. This is just one of the reasons why DMCC is delighted to sign this agreement with Innoway an organisation that has an equally impressive innovation story," said Feryal Ahmadi, Chief Operating Officer of DMCC.

"Through this strategic partnership with Innoway, we will serve as the launchpad for Chinas most promising start-ups and SMEs, offering them unprecedented opportunities to scale and tap new markets while also supporting the emirates digital agenda," she added.

Originally established as a science, technology and innovation hub, Innoway has been dubbed "Chinas Silicon Valley", and was established by the Beijing Government to foster global entrepreneurship and offer a platform for an open exchange between global players in the start-up and innovation ecosystem. It has successfully incubated over 3,400 start-ups and raised a total of AED4.7 billion (approximately US$1.28 billion).

Nie Lixia, General Manager of Innoway, stated, "DMCC offers the ideal ecosystem for Chinese firms looking to expand across the Middle East, and will provide tremendous value to many of the start-ups we are working with. We look forward to welcoming a new wave of innovative Chinese businesses to DMCC and together, help write the next chapter of Dubai and Chinas story."This announcement builds on the comprehensive strategy of DMCC to attract innovative companies to Dubai, and contribute to the nations wider economic diversification strategy. Earlier this year, DMCC signed an agreement with Crypto Valley a Swiss Government-supported initiative to create a blockchain and cryptographic based business ecosystem in Dubai.

China remains among the UAEs largest trading partners. The volume of bilateral trade between the UAE and China reached AED127 billion in the first nine months of 2019, a 6 percent increase compared to the same period in 2018. To date, DMCC is home to over 500 Chinese member companies from a variety of sectors.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2020.