Adio holds roadshows in major global cities to attract investors to Abu Dhabi

Events were organised by Adio’s London, Paris, Beijing, Seoul, New York and San Francisco offices

Adio opened eight international offices in January 2021. Photo: Adio

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office conducted a series of roadshows in major cities around the world as it seeks to attract investors who are looking to expand operations in the UAE capital.

Adio, which is responsible for attracting and promoting investment in Abu Dhabi, connected with hundreds of business leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators through its offices in London, Paris, Beijing, Seoul, New York and San Francisco, it said on Monday.

Each of Adio's offices organised an event aimed at introducing their respective markets to the advantages of doing business in Abu Dhabi. The initiative was aimed at helping businesses capitalise on opportunities in the emirate, the entity said.

“The benefits of doing business in Abu Dhabi are unmatched in the region, particularly for companies focused on innovation and technology. Within our investment ecosystem, businesses will find strong government support, established infrastructure and enabling regulations to accelerate their next stage of growth,” said Mohammed Al Shorafa, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (Added).

The move comes as Adio strengthens its efforts to support global investors. Earlier this year, the entity opened eight global offices in the US, Europe and Asia in its first foray abroad, as part of its drive to attract more investors to the UAE capital.

In partnership with Added, Adio established a network of offices in Tel Aviv, New York, San Francisco, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Beijing and Seoul.

Adio provides support to innovation-led ventures in sectors such as information and communications technology, health services and biopharma, agriculture technology and tourism.

Last month, Adio teamed up with UK-based independent capital markets company Maven Global Access to unveil a new programme – the Access Abu Dhabi initiative – that will help US companies led by women and minority entrepreneurs to expand in Abu Dhabi.

The programme is part of the emirate’s strategy to intensify efforts to support economic progress and convince global companies to set up their regional bases in Abu Dhabi.

In July, Adio extended Dh90 million ($24.5m) in funding and non-financial incentives to three technology companies to grow their operations.

It is supporting UAE-based companies Lyve and Rizek, as well as UK-based Callsign to build a regional presence through its Innovation Programme.

Adio has already provided backing this year to Amazon Web Services, video-streaming platform Starzplay, music-streaming service Anghami and cloud management company Bespin Global to allow them to start operations in Abu Dhabi.

In June, Adio also joined hands with Abu Dhabi’s global technology ecosystem Hub71 to help it scale up early stage start-ups through new investment.

Start-ups and businesses can now have access to Adio’s full range of support, the company said on Monday, with Adio’s investor care services supporting companies with licences, permits and visas, as well as data and insights to help start a business.

“For global companies, Abu Dhabi offers access to a fast-growing region by way of a supportive business ecosystem and outstanding connectivity,” said Monira Al-Kuttab, executive director of Adio.

Adio’s roadshows, which concluded this month, featured speeches and panel discussions from companies that have successfully expanded to Abu Dhabi.