As part of its efforts to position the UAE as a leading destination for the economy, business and future, Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal export credit company, in partnership with the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF), hosted the World Business Angel Investors Week (WBAW) on Saturday, 23 October 2021 at Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo 2020 Dubai.
As an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, WBAF coordinates the World Business Angel Investors Week, which was held globally from 18-24 October 2021 and participated in by 72 countries.
This hybrid event provided an open platform for connecting, learning, sharing, exhibiting inventions and innovations, and exchanging know-how that promotes entrepreneurship and angel investment ecosystems.
His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade shared his insights on how the UAE supports investors and entrepreneurs as a keynote speaker.
“Today, it is now indisputable that the UAE is amongst the best countries to invest in, where SMEs make up 95 per cent of the total enterprise population. From the number of companies funded to the capital invested in startups, the UAE is leading the startup environment in the MENA region. This is a result of the partnership between the government and private sectors in educating investors and entrepreneurs on the importance of startups, providing various platforms to connect them, and forming a network of angels and startups where passion can be transformed into reality,” H.E. Al Zeyoudi said.
The CEO of the Federal Company Etihad Credit Insurance Massimo Falcioni represented the United Arab Emirates within the WBAF as the UAE High Commissioner at the Grand Assembly of the world’s biggest angel investment forum and provided a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.
Talking on Diplomacy in Action for Entrepreneurs, Falcioni said: “The world, which is recovering from the impacts of a prolonged pandemic in human history, demands new business diplomacy. Everything is in change and adopting better ways to meet the changing needs is at the heart of successful diplomatic actions. And incorporating the principle of sustainability, mobility and opportunities into diplomacy is critical for the time being and the time to come. As the UAE Federal export credit company, ECI has redefined diplomacy to encourage entrepreneurship by being instrumental in achieving the target adopted in the UAE National Agenda for non-oil Export Development. We implement our strategy to shape the UAE economy in accordance with the vision of the country’s wise leadership for the next 50 years.”
The event was attended by ministries, dignitaries, C-Level executives, and investors in person from the Expo 2020 Dubai. It also featured the whole WBAF Community hailing from more than 127 countries—including 685 representatives, 16 High Commissioners, 4 Senior Senators, 266 Senators, 357 International Partners and 44 Faculty Members.
The inclusion of the United Arab Emirates in WBAF provided a wide range of opportunities for UAE businesses, paving the way for outstanding economic growth.
‘Business Diplomacy for International Entrepreneurship’ was the theme of this year’s event, where expert speakers and panelists from diverse fields inspired current and future leaders of the world to take risks on new ideas, collaborate across sectors, and transform world economies through the scaling of entrepreneurship, angel investment, financial inclusion and innovation.
World Business Angel Investors Week in the UAE proved to be an excellent platform to campaign for solutions regarding critical issues of early-stage equity and capital markets and other worldwide concerns at the United Nations, the European Union and in G20 countries and regional and local economies.
