ABU DHABI – For business executives in the Gulf like myself who have enjoyed friendships and business relationships with Israelis for many years, the Abraham Accords signed a year ago opened a new market. Many Emiratis have spent time studying or working in the United States or Europe and our connections with Jewish and Israeli colleagues go back a long time. The Abraham Accords between the UAE and Israel gave us a chance to explore the opportunities arising from those relationships.
When I was approached by an old American friend about talking to OurCrowd, I was intrigued.
In my first meeting with Jon Medved, OurCrowd’s CEO, we discussed how Israeli entrepreneurs are at their best when dreaming up innovative technical solutions and developing new products. Emiratis are experienced at commercializing technology and building international businesses in new markets.
I suggested that OurCrowd could build a real business by using the UAE as a gateway to the eastern hemisphere, combining Israelis’ technical skills and Emiratis’ business expertise. We could also bring the best of Emirati technology to the attention of OurCrowd’s existing investors, giving them a new range of start-ups to explore and combine the talents from both communities, enabling them to learn from each other and grow.
Jon agreed. He likened the Abraham Accords to the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall in post-communist Europe, describing it as a “Sand Curtain” that had divided Israel from the Gulf, cutting off an important business corridor – almost like resurrecting the centuries-old original trade routes between west and east. We both saw the UAE not as a destination for OurCrowd, but as a gateway to half of the world.
Within weeks, I became the first Emirati appointed to a senior position in an Israeli investment company and today I am engaged in building OurCrowd’s presence in the UAE, most recently incorporating OurCrowd Arabia in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, licensed as a Venture Capital Fund Manager.
OurCrowd has established a global reputation by enabling ordinary accredited investors, not just billionaires, to participate in the development of innovative start-ups aiming to solve some of the world’s most urgent problems. Now we could extend it to new, untapped markets.
The UAE has deep business connections in Africa and Southeast Asia and it makes sense for OurCrowd to use the UAE as a base from which to reach these regions. We aim to become a twin to OurCrowd HQ in Israel, providing the same services, the same investments, the same support to start-ups in Africa and the eastern hemisphere, mirroring the success of OurCrowd’s existing business in Israel, Europe and North America. We can also be a gateway to the wider world.
The UAE is not just a source of investment. We have our own fast-growing start-up community. While Israel has been building its Start-up Nation on the western shores of the Middle East, the UAE has been developing its own hi-tech sector over here in the East.
Just like Israel, the UAE has been opening up to the world with its technology and entrepreneurship. In the space of a few short years, the UAE has become a world leader in logistics, finance, sustainable energy, smart transportation and smart cities.
DP World, Dubai’s global ports company, has become the global trading gateway to Asia. The UAE has become a global financial, business, medical, hospitality and trading center.
We have the world’s largest solar power installations and through our commitment to zero emissions and zero waste, we are developing the world’s most water- and energy-efficient cities.
While much of this technology is imported, our commitment to world-class education, healthcare and technology has inspired our home-grown entrepreneurs to develop their own start-up ecosystem.
Our ride-hailing start-up Careem was acquired for more than $3 billion by Uber, and Souq, our first unicorn, was acquired by Amazon. We have even produced a world-class supercar that sells for millions of dollars, is rated among the very best and starred in a Hollywood movie.
Having ties with Israel helps the UAE introduce its technology start-ups to partners and investors in Israel, the US and the rest of the world.
Now we are looking at Israeli companies that are ready to scale up and want to come to the UAE and use this as their base to commercialize their innovation and sell to the international community. Within the UAE and the region, the Middle East, we are looking for companies that have the potential to become really disruptive global players.
Already, there are serious talks underway between entrepreneurs and investors on both sides across a wide range of sectors: medical, agriculture, clean energy, fintech, critical infrastructure, artificial intelligence and much more.
As the UAE continues to develop into one of the world’s finance hubs, fintech will become increasingly important. The same is true of logistics. At the same time, DP World, which runs the global shipping hub in Dubai, can bring expertise and knowledge in logistics to Israeli ports like Haifa and Ashdod.
By the end of June 2021, less than a year after signing the Accords, bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE had soared more than 100% to $675 million. Multi-million-dollar investment deals between Israeli and Emirati investors and entrepreneurs have already been signed and many more are pending. Between lockdowns forced on air travel by the COVID-19 pandemic, many thousands of citizens of both countries flocked to visit the other on more than 100 flights scheduled each week.
As the first anniversary approaches, it is clear that this partnership is only just beginning. Israelis and Emiratis are delighted to discover much they have in common as two small entrepreneurial nations that have embraced education and technology to build modern economies based on knowledge and science. Israel and the UAE are creating a partnership of prosperity that will warm the economies of both countries and transform the lives of millions in the region.
Like other small nations punching above their weight class in education and technology, Israel and the UAE are sharing ideas and resources and inspiring each other. Our experience demonstrates the ability of small, modern, technology-focused states to lead and have an outsized global impact.
The Israel-UAE normalization can create a network that will connect the world’s two hemispheres. This will benefit the economies of both countries and the region. But if we think about the global markets that each party can help open for the other, this becomes a partnership that will benefit the entire world.
The writer is Gulf Cooperation Council Venture Capital partner and head of the Gulf Region at OurCrowd, the Jerusalem-based global investment platform.
This article was written in cooperation with OurCrowd.