Hub71, Abu Dhabi's global IT ecosystem, has established Ventures Lab in collaboration with New York-based Modus Capital, venture capital, and venture building business.

The venture builder will help early-stage creators from all over the world launch profitable and scalable businesses from Abu Dhabi. Modus's Ventures Lab at Hub71 is the UAE's first venture-building program.

Ventures Lab will assist entrepreneurs in testing and validating ideas and concepts, developing Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), and delivering products to market. Each year, a minimum of 16 entrepreneurs would be accepted into the nine-month program through a screening process performed by Hub71, Modus, and other industry professionals. Modus' knowledgeable team of entrepreneurs and operators will collaborate with participating founders to offer customized hand-in-hand venture building support, business model, fundraising readiness, and product growth management connected to their business objectives throughout the startup's entire lifecycle.

All through the life of the course, each graduating enterprise will receive up to $450,000 in financing and in-kind resources from the Modus Venture Builder, which is headquartered at Hub71. Upon graduation from Ventures Lab, founders will also get admission to Hub71's Incentive program and dynamic community, in which they will continue to get operational assistance, supplemental teams, and the incentives, program, and worldwide networks needed to expand their market reach. Graduating founders will also have accessibility to the $80 million Modus Mena Venture Fund (MMVFI) that is based at Abu Dhabi Global Market, and Hub71's growing capital ecosystem of 17 VC firms with more than $1.72 billion in assets under management.

Founders in the early phases of developing a concept or prototype in any field are welcome to apply to Ventures Lab. As part of Hub71's commitment to supporting national priority industries following Abu Dhabi Vision 2030, FinTech, Direct-to-Consumer, HealthTech, and EdTech businesses will be given priority. Hub71 will also emphasize female entrepreneurs and UAE nationals to develop the next generation of diverse local entrepreneurs.

“We believe that a resilient and successful business model is just as important as the founder themselves, and that is why, from ideation to exit, our collaboration with Modus will produce more than access to Hub71, and also the strategic planners, coders, marketing experts, and tech developers to help commercialize their product lines,” said Nader Museitif, Head of Products and Business Development at Hub71.

“Through Ventures Lab, we would also enable more founders to lead viable tech companies, help attract companies and investment to Abu Dhabi, and support the nation's future generation of entrepreneurs in shaping the country's future digital-based economy.” Modus' worldwide presence in New York and Cairo, combined with its proven expertise in venture creation, exemplifies our commitment to forming collaborations that provide value and increase funding prospects for our entrepreneurs. We are excited to collaborate with Modus and provide an enabling initiative that fosters meaningful indigenous tech startups in the core of Abu Dhabi.”

Modus Capital, which has offices in New York, Cairo, and now Abu Dhabi, is helping to grow the area's entrepreneurial ecosystem by investing in promising startup businesses in the Mena area. Modus, which was founded in the US and has since expanded to the Mena region, transmitting international know-how and implementing it to the regional ecosystem, consists of three facets, one of which adds a unique value to the others – Venture Builders, Venture Capital, and Corporate Innovation.

Modus is creating regional co-working facilities to house its venture builders and corporate creativity programs, and it expects to introduce three more venture builders around the region later this year, starting with The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

“We're delighted to support and promote entrepreneurship with our collaboration with Hub71, not with cash, but also with experience and hands-on operational and customized coaching,” Kareem Elsirafy, Managing Partner at Modus Capital, said. Hub71 has created a world-class global digital environment, and I am honored to work with them by generating substantial possibilities for shared knowledge and establishing the first collaborative venture builder in the Mena region.”

Hub71, titled after the year the UAE was founded in 1971, is a digital ecosystem in the heart of Abu Dhabi that brings together many important factors for startup success: access to finance, access to market possibilities, and a good business climate.