Abu Dhabi offers hub for innovative businesses with focus on sustainability — ADIO chief

ABU DHABI — Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations and standards are fully integrated into investment and business decision-making in Abu Dhabi, which has been a key player in the green economy for years, according to Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO).

Since the creation of AIDO in late 2019, its mandate has been to focus on needs and requirements of investors, whether local or international, he said.

AIDO’s strategies are aligned with the UAE’s vision that places heavy emphasis on policies and strategies of sustainability and ESG, he said during a meeting with a media delegation recently.

“All our decisions are based on sustainability of projects whether it has to do with environment or social or governance considerations, and ESG lies at the heart of our work,” he added.

As part of its efforts of enhancing the emirate’s position as a hub for companies from across the world, AIDO has launched the Innovation Programme, which provides incentives to a wide range of businesses in high-growth areas, including financial services, tourism, Agtech, ICT and healthcare and biopharma, among others. 
The Innovation Programme includes globally competitive financial and non-financial incentives worth AED 2 billion ($545 million), providing support to innovative business. The programme enables them to grow and deliver ideas that can benefit the region and the world, he added.

“As a fund, this targets innovation companies. Companies that have innovation in certain sectors. We focus on health sector, technology and manufacturing of medical equipment, vaccines, pharmaceuticals and tourism. These are innovative companies in tourism, technology in agriculture, capacity building, technology, telecom, startups and financial services,” he added.

AIDO has succeeded so far in attracting more than 40 companies in these five sectors

“We created jobs and enabled partnerships to 13,000 employees in Abu Dhabi,” he added.

He added that AIDO helps these companies grow through providing them with networking and expansion opportunities with other peers in the fields.

“We are keen on creating partnerships with the investors. We are always keen to understand the concerns of the investors and we are keen to make the journey easy for investors,” he added.

“We have partnerships with many countries and soon we will have more to support investments and support the growth of the private sector companies here. Abu Dhabi is a hub for companies from all over the world,” he added.

He said that Abu Dhabi has been focusing on green energy for years now.

“We created MASDAR almost 17 years ago… The idea of sustainability of green economy is not new for us; it is something we have been adopting for years…The current efforts and momentum here have been worked on for more than 16 years… Abu Dhabi has been a leader in this area of renewable energy and green economy,” he added.

Equally important in this regard and in attracting talents is efforts spearheaded by the Abu Dhabi Residents Office of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, which was established to support the emirate's thriving international community.

The office is dedicated to helping new residents settle into Abu Dhabi and supporting the integration and harmonisation of the international community with the local culture and society, which drives the office’s mandate to provide smart services for visa applications and enquiries, guides for residents, as well as active research and engagement programmes that promote life in the emirate. 

The office also advocates for international residents and actively contribute to shaping policies that improve the quality of life for everyone in Abu Dhabi, now and in the future.

During a meeting with Hareb Al Mheiri, Executive Director, Abu Dhabi Residents Office, he reviewed the residency programmes, services and facilities offered by the department.

He also stressed on the key role played by the office in attracting talents in various arenas

 “Our mission is to make the journey of the residents easier… We are keen on attracting talents, entrepreneurs and even retirees to choose Abu Dhabi as their residence,” Al Mheiri added, highlighting the various benefits offered by Abu Dhabi including being “the safest in the world”.

“We are working on attracting talents in promising sectors including IT and soon we will launch more services for retirees,” Al Mheiri added.