The other day I was reading startup news in Abu Dhabi and I came across an interesting article written by an American Startup that moved to Abu Dhabi. One part of the story written by the founder of CompanyEgg that caught my attention was the comment about how the UAE is in many ways a startup itself: In less than 50 years, the country has become one of the most advanced and forward thinking countries in the entire world.

A unit of France’s defence electronics group Thales, Thales Emarat Technologies, and Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 are joining forces. The two have joined teams to support innovation in the Emirates. According to AbuDhabuStartup.com: Hub71 is community of founders, investors and business enablers that form a unique technology ecosystem strategically located in Abu Dhabi. Named after the UAE’s formation in 1971, Hub71 is creating the optimal environment for transformative tech companies looking to maximize success, produce outstanding tech innovations and scale globally.

Given the recent news with startups in Abu Dhabi, we thought now would be a good time to highlight one of the programs the Abu Dhabi government has launched. The Hub71 program is an incentive program for startups that offers startups housing, office space, and health insurance. This startup incentives program does not take equity, something that is a rarity in the startup space. Launched recently, they aim to have more than 100 startups at Hub71 by 2023.

2020 has been a year that tested the human civilization. This year has brought about much change in ways many would not have imagined. It’s accelerated the growth of ecommerce and made businesses that could not adapt quick enough shut the their doors forever. If anything, 2020 has been the year of technology startups leading the world. “Software is eating the world.” Marc Andreessen Countries like China are a nearly cashless society.

Technology and media are evolving before our eyes it seems, a point the Pivot Conference has illustrated beautifully with an infographic they compiled showcasing how seven tech and web companies today started out. It’s a great reminder that we are right in the middle of a technological revolution. While established industries rely on large scale manufacturing and mature worldwide delivery networks, new communications technologies have resulted in cottage industries popping up across the globe where language and cultural awareness are a marketable asset.