Added To Participate As Strategic Partner Of Aim 2020

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has revealed its participation as one of the strategic partners of this year's edition of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), the world's leading investment platform, which will be held from October 20, 2020 to October 22, 2020. This year's edition of the meeting is being offered as a virtual event held under the theme, ‘Reimagining Economies: The move towards a digital, sustainable and resilient future.’ AIM continues to remain true to its key purpose of exploring investment opportunities across more than 170 plus countries.

AIM, an initiative of the Ministry of Economy, is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The virtual edition of the event is being dubbed as the largest deal-making virtual platform for the global investment community. The three-day meeting will be attended by top ministries and government departments, international and regional organizations, investment promotion agencies, special economic zones, private equities, angel investors, venture capitalists, startups, incubators, SME financing institutions, smart city solution providers and technology providers. 

H.E. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of ADDED, explained how timely and strategic AIM is, pointing out how it successfully demonstrates the aspirations and visions that have been created to help address the challenges that are currently being faced by economies from all over the world due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic--including the impact of countries not being able to continue with their implementation of policies on investment and development. 

H.E. Al Shorafa said, “As we continue to move forward amid these extraordinary circumstances that the whole world is facing, the Abu Dhabi Government's policy is now more focused on using the emirate's increased attractiveness for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)--which include key features like economic and political stability, world-class infrastructure, strategic location, strong cash reserves, and well-coordinated government spending. As a result of these strengths, cumulative FDI into the emirate over the last nine years (2010-2019) has seen an increase of 8.2 per cent on average.” 

The ADDED Chairman reveals that government initiatives in the emirate, including the ones based on innovation and entrepreneurship, have widely contributed towards the efforts to consolidate Abu Dhabi's position as a hub for FDI inflows from all over the world. He added that the emirate has now become home to many leading international companies, bringing advanced technology and innovative solutions. In fact, cumulative FDI in information and communications technology (ICT) increased significantly during the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, growing by more than 265 per cent. 

H.E. Al Shorafa showed the importance of Abu Dhabi's participation at this year's AIM, saying, “AIM is an opportunity for the Abu Dhabi Government to reaffirm its commitment to continue to work on the enhancement of its business and investment environment through facilitating and simplifying the process of doing business in Abu Dhabi. Our aim is to address timely issues such as reducing the encumbrances for businesses, providing stimulus packages, and implementing more initiatives to support the businesses' success, continuity, growth and expansion in a sustainable manner.”

H.E. the Chairman invited all countries, companies, institutions, entities, and organizations participating in this extraordinary edition of the event to create real investment opportunities and restructure their policies so that they are at pace with the developments of today's world. “I wish each and every one of you continued success and prosperity,” Al Shorafa concluded.

Meanwhile, H.E. Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, revealed that ADDED's participation at AIM 2020 will prove to be a strategic vehicle to highlight the significance of start-ups in the emirate's economy. 

H.E. Al Balooshi, said, “The Abu Dhabi government is keen to support start-ups, with more than AED 1 billion allocated to support startup projects, including platforms to access capital, market reach and highly qualified professionals that could help grow their projects or expand their business. The global tech ecosystem which is being run by Mubadala Investment Company has already successfully provided startups with up to USD139 million worth of support by leveraging partnerships with leading companies such as the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Microsoft, Abu Dhabi Investment Office, including Mubadala itself, and the Ghadan 21 accelerator programme.” 

The ADDED Undersecretary explains that ADDED's Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) is helping these start-ups through the signing of various Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with 10 leading national banks in the UAE to enhance the credit environment for Abu Dhabi’s industrial and commercial sectors--a move aimed at further promoting competitiveness among banks and encourage them to develop innovative financing products and services for various sectors in the emirate.

H.E. Al Balooshi concluded, “The list of projects, programs, and initiatives designed to support startups in Abu Dhabi are numerous, which reflects Abu Dhabi’s commitment to growth and its strong belief in the role of startups in creating the future and stimulating the economy through innovative solutions and pioneering ideas. I urge various countries and tech startups with high-tech and practical ideas to explore Abu Dhabi’s investment opportunities. We assure you of our commitment to creating effective partnerships through safe and successful platforms.”

The exciting three-day agenda of this year's first ever virtual AIM will cover key discussions on FDI, SMEs, start-ups, future cities, foreign portfolio investment and the one belt, one road policy. AIM 2020 will be composed of a main conference, workshops, virtual exhibition, country presentations, meetings and investment round table discussions.