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Mobily launches fund to invest in emerging Internet, IT startups

Mobily launches fund to invest in emerging Internet, IT startups
ETIHAD ETISALAT
7020
10.16% 52.60 4.85

Continuing to foster its position of innovation and market leadership, Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) announced the launch of “Mobily Ventures”, the Corporate Venture Capital arm of Mobily. Mobily Ventures invests in high-tech startup companies in the Telecommunication, Information Technology, Media and Entertainment industries.

The focus will be on Early-Stage and Growth-Stage startups in areas including e-commerce & retail innovation, mobile financial services & payment, digital advertising, digital content & entertainment as well as IT & cloud services.

As a strategic investor, the goal of Mobily Ventures is to build technological and economical synergies between the startup and Mobily. Mobily Ventures will enable startups to leverage Mobily assets to accelerate their growth.

According to Engineer Khalid Bin Omar Al Kaf, CEO of Mobily, “Mobily Ventures will further strengthen our company’s position in the ICT sector through the adoption of innovative products and services from the startups and at the same time foster entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and the wider Arab world”. Dr. Karl-Michael Henneking, Chief Corporate Strategy and M&A Officer of Mobily adds to this, "We not only gain valuable insight and understanding of market trends through equity investments in young high-tech companies, but also can build technological and economical synergies with the business units of Mobily".

Mobily Ventures announces its first two investments today. The first investment is "Easy Taxi", a company which provides an application for smart phones, which users can book a taxi to come to their location. The "Easy Taxi" application is available on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows iPhone.

The second investment is Anghami, a mobile application that provides millions of Arabic and Western songs to listen to and download for free. Anghami allows users to discover new music based on their taste, along with the ability to share your favorite songs with friends.