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Dubai Establishes $272 Million Future District Fund To Attract Tech Companies
Digital companies relocating to Dubai’s Future District get to enjoy a number of benefits, including access to a large pool of entrepreneurial talent and hyper-connected infrastructure.

To establish 1,000 digital companies in the Dubai Future District (DFD) over the next five years, Dubai has recently launched a AED 1 billion fund ($272.3 million), called the Dubai Future District Fund, encouraging companies to list in the Dubai Financial Markets and stock exchange.
The fund is an initiative of the Dubai Securities and Exchange Higher Committee, and it reflects the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
“The Dubai Future District Fund supports national efforts and strategies aimed at enabling entrepreneurs to reach new horizons, realize Dubai’s aspirations for the new economy, and contribute to enhancing the emirate’s status as a preferred destination for investment environment and exceptional facilities,” stated Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed Deputy Ruler, Dubai Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Finance.
One half of the fund is dedicated to investments into venture capital funds with a local focus, while the other half is supposed to support startups directly or through Future District affiliated programs.
Also Read: Oracle Opens A New Cloud Region In Abu Dhabi
Digital companies that decide to base their operations in the Dubai Future District get to enjoy a number of benefits, including access to a large pool of entrepreneurial talent and hyper-connected infrastructure. Dubai has also very recently demonstrated its ability to quickly react to rapidly changing conditions when it became one of the first cities in the world to recover from the pandemic and reopen its economy.
All this makes it a very attractive place for startups and venture capital, and the UAE Centennial 2071 plan, whose goal is nothing less than to make the UAE the best country in the world by 2071, only reaffirms Dubai’s ongoing commitment to serve as a global hub for business.
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Checkout.com Brings Visa Direct Push-To-Card To The UAE
The payment company is the first acquirer in the UAE to launch Visa Direct’s solution, enabling safe, instant money transfers.

Checkout.com has taken the UAE a step closer to its goal of a fully digital economy by becoming the first acquirer in the country to offer Visa Direct’s Push-to-Card solution. The new service will streamline money transfers for both businesses and consumers, enabling near-instant transactions across local and international markets.
Visa Direct connects over 190 markets and supports over 8.5 billion endpoints, including cards, bank accounts, and digital wallets. Push-to-Card transactions enhance efficiency for business users and consumers by allowing money to be sent quickly and easily to eligible Visa cards while leveraging the company’s secure network for reliability.
“Visa Direct is transforming the way money moves globally, and we are excited to see Checkout.com leverage this technology to meet the evolving demands of businesses and individuals alike by offering them a faster, more convenient, and secure way to send and receive funds,” said Shahebaz Khan, Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, CEMEA.
The UAE has been at the forefront of digital payment adoption, driven by a national push toward a cashless economy. Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, General Manager for MENA at Checkout.com, emphasized this shift: “By providing seamless, secure, and real-time payout capabilities, we’re empowering merchants with the agility to thrive in this fast-evolving landscape, while effectively meeting the growing consumer demand for speed and convenience. The Push-to-Card solution not only reinforces our commitment to powering payment performance but also showcases our agility in bringing yet another innovation to the UAE market.”
Also Read: Qareeb Partners With Pantheon For GCC Bitcoin Mining Expansion
Checkout.com’s latest MENA eCommerce data highlights the region’s increasing engagement with financial technologies, with around 80% of consumers participating in activities beyond basic online payments, such as money transfers and personal wealth management. The growing demand for real-time financial transactions has made fast, seamless payment solutions a priority.
To meet this demand, Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) have gained traction in the UAE. By integrating AFTs with Visa’s Push-to-Card services, Checkout.com is helping merchants offer secure, real-time account top-ups. Currently processing over one million AFTs per month with Visa, Checkout.com is now playing a leading role in modernizing financial transactions in the region.
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