Economy

Investopia 2023

The second annual Investopia event has identified the industries of the future.

Investopia 2023 took place on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island with the theme of “Envisioning Opportunities in Times of Change”, and was chaired by H.E The Minister of Economy of the UAE.
The second annual Investopia event has identified the industries of the future.

Investopia 2023 has been a successful and prestigious undertaking.

It was chaired by H.E Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy of the UAE, and was held in partnership with top global thought leadership forum SALT, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, and Crypto.com.

The event brought around 2,500 government officials, decision-makers, investors, and entrepreneurs together in the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi.

One-third of the attendees were from abroad.

The ceremony kickstarted with an address by His Excellency the Minister, focusing on the main developments across the country’s expanding economic landscape.

Trends in the field of financial diversification, decarbonization practices, and technological innovations such as Artificial Intelligence and Automation were all explored, and their application to diverse industries was assessed.

His Excellency, Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), contributed by emphasizing the Emirate’s short term mission; “At this epochal moment for the world economy, it is important to bring key players in the global investment community together to discuss ways to deal with challenges and factors shaping the future.”

The event hosted 35 breakout sessions and roundtables that allowed participants to explore and be involved in specific topics in more depth. One of them was titled “Growth Opportunities in today’s economy,” and underlined the role that inflation, demographics, and emerging markets play when a company decides to invest in a specific project.

Marc Antaki, head of Portfolio Strategy at Mubadala Investment Company noted that “In this new world, we are going to have winners and losers. The people and their management teams are the ones that will create and define success.”

Another plenary session titled “D33: A new economy” stressed Dubai’s new economic agenda, by expressing the government’s aim of doubling the size of its economy within the next decade.

His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri the Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism stated that “today we see ourselves in a very advantageous position, a position which stems from the governance through which the country and the Emirates are run, that allows us to move forward in speed and to build up where we are. D33 puts in place key priorities that rally all public and private sectors around, this partnership will allow us to look forward across key areas such as talent, ESG, the financial sector, manufacturing, and technologies, among others.”

The session also stressed the novelty of technologies and how they will be applied to different industries. Developing the ecosystem will allow people to operate safely and with certainty, helping to attract the right talent.

Finally, Investopia 2023 hosted a session, titled “Mobilising New Economies.” The panel discussion heard from interesting contributors, including: Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications; Val Miftakhov, Founder & CEO, Annex Investments; Jane Poynter, Founder, co-CEO &CXO, Space Perspectives; and Mr. Kyle Clark, CEO, BETA Technologies.

The debate highlighted how to leverage innovation to be more efficient, cost less, and cleaner to the environment, with data and facts provided in the session intending to leverage UAE’s approach in the logistics and transport sector.

Investopia 2023 also marked the launch of the first “Venture Marketplace,” which brought together different local startups, entrepreneurs, and VCs that presented their success stories, business models, and investment portfolios.

Investotopia’s main goal since its inception is to establish an investment community and hub for networking and tackling gaps in emerging markets; this will allow different personalities to get involved, and foster collaboration and knowledge sharing, which will ultimately drive new investment opportunities between markets.