"START AD" With"New York Abu Dhabi" organize "Investors Forum"
ABU DHABI, 26th November, 2017 (WAM) – StartAD, the global accelerator platform based at NYU Abu Dhabi and supported by Tamkeen, and Venture Souq, the venture capital firm in the MENA region, organized the ninth edition of the annual “Angel Rising Investor Introduction Forum”.
The event was held in cooperation with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, and with the support of ecosystem partners, including the Global Center for Climate Finance.
The forum brought together an elite group of investors, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and innovators in the field of climate under the slogan “Expanding climate resilience in countries of the Global South.”
In her speech during the forum, Her Excellency Sheikha Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Executive Director of the Integrated Environmental Planning and Policies Sector at the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, stressed the importance of making real progress in climate adaptation efforts.
Her Excellency said, On this occasion, we view climate adaptation as a social and economic entitlement that is no less important than it is an urgent environmental necessity, and earlier this year, we launched the Abu Dhabi Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the Environmental Sector (2025-2050), which is a long-term framework that aims to enhance the ability of our ecosystems, societies, and economy to withstand climate change.
For her part, Nihal Sheikh, Assistant Director of the StartAD platform, confirmed that the communities of the Global South bear the brunt of the effects of climate change, and their gross domestic product is expected to decline to about 64% by the end of the current century. Here the importance of accelerating the pace of investment in climate technology is highlighted, because it constitutes an urgent necessity whose impact is not limited to the planet, but extends beyond it to include social and economic development.
For her part, Sonia Weimüller, co-founder and general partner at Venture Market, said that the forum highlighted the region’s richness in intellectual contributions and inspiring revolutionary visions in the field of climate investing.
She added that the discussions brought together various parties, from the founders of investment-backed startups to policy innovators, who agreed on the need to push for practical solutions and build an investment system based on cooperation. They also reached a common conviction that enhancing climate adaptation capacity in countries of the Global South requires a comprehensive investment approach that combines financing in the early stages of projects and a sustainable commitment to established policies.
The forum included many constructive sessions, including “Mechanisms for Utilizing Technology to Reach Optimal Adaptation to Climate Change and Bridging the Gap: Opening Investment Horizons in the Early Stages to Enhance Economic Growth,” which discussed how to expand the scope of innovation in the fields of water, energy, and urban infrastructure in countries of the Global South, and the role of blended finance, venture capital, and digital platforms in reducing investment risks in the early stages and stimulating economic growth.
As for the session “Politics as an Impact Multiplier that Drives Building Supportive Systems for Climate Innovation,” it brought together an elite group of regional and international decision-makers, who discussed regulatory frameworks and financing mechanisms capable of integrating climate adaptation into national agendas, while the session “The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Accelerating Climate Solutions” explored the potential of artificial intelligence in climate modelling, carbon accounting, and improving energy efficiency.
The official program concluded with a networking session that brought together investors, entrepreneurs and policy makers, with the aim of exchanging experiences and exploring opportunities for cooperation.
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