DIFC’s new Studio Launchpad to support SMEs, financial ecosystem

DIFC’s new Studio Launchpad to support SMEs, financial ecosystem

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has announced the launch of the world’s first venture studio platform, Studio Launchpad, solely focused on ubiquitous finance and digital asset technologies. Venture studios are innovative organisations that proactively build and invest in startups and help them actively achieve success with their own internal capabilities. Studio Launchpad – supported by an international group of venture building experts, digital asset pioneers and emerging technology strategists – is designed to attract and engage a consortium of leading startup and corporate venture studios. Using DIFC’s ecosystem, it will enable collaboration and co-creation between venture studios, corporations, entrepreneurs, investors and academic partners from around the world. The initiative supports DIFC’s efforts to accomplish the goals of its 2030 strategy by attracting the best talent and companies from around the world to Dubai, providing them with all the necessary support to develop, test and launch new startups, scale-ups and corporate ventures. According to research published by the Global Startup Studio Network, there are over 730 active venture studios around the world. Over 50 per cent of them launched in the past five years. The rate of growth among corporate venture studios is even higher. New ventures that launch from studios