News

Hub71 Launches Exclusive Capital Club In Abu Dhabi

The global tech ecosystem’s new venture will help family offices to access technology and startup investments in the region.

Published

4 years ago

October 28, 2022

Nour Nasir

Hub71

Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem, Hub71, has just launched a new platform called Tech Barza, an exclusive capital club dedicated to increasing investment in technology companies and startups in the region.

The platform targets regional family offices for exclusive entry to Hub71’s community of nearly 200 startups, with an aim to accelerate funding. In 2021, $2.6 billion was generated across the MENA region for startup-related projects, representing a massive 138% improvement from the previous year. Tech Barza will help to continue this trend, helping startups and tech innovators to hook up with investors and get products to market faster.

The inaugural meetup of Tech Barza included leading family offices at Hub71, which is based in the international financial center Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). Members of the exclusive club will gain access to pitch days, investor networks, and other business events, with many led by Hub71’s partner Mubadala Investment Company.

Also Read: 10 Best VPN Services For The Middle East (Free & Paid)

“The private sector has a key role in shaping the next 50 years of our nation, and family offices are, without a doubt, the heartbeat of the economy. With the launch of Tech Barza, we will not just support the economic growth of the region, but we will also bring diversity and inclusivity to family offices, removing the misconception of crowding out, and reinforcing the mission of knowledge sharing,” says Badr Al-Olama, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Hub71.

Since the launch of Hub71 in 2019, the global tech ecosystem has channeled AED 3.2 billion into the startup community and secured funding to grow several sustainable ventures which will positively impact the UAE’s capital.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.