Investment Thesis
About DF2
The Dubai Future District Fund is a company established by the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance to support innovative technology startups with additional funding and to foster a thriving venture ecosystem in the region.
DF2 founding shareholders are Dubai International Financial Center and Dubai Future Foundation.
Our mission is to boost venture capital availability through Fund of Fund investments into local, regional and international venture capital funds and direct investments into startups across two thematic pillars, the Future of Finance and Future Economies.
We are headquartered in the United Arab Emirates with offices in Dubai International Financial Centre.
Our Investment Thesis
We invest 50% into venture capital funds (Fund of Funds) and 50% directly into startups in our thesis.
Our aim is to support the next wave of innovative companies and investors by investing at all stages, across all key sectors and focused on the relevant geographies of the MENA region and beyond.
The open-ended nature of the fund aligns with our government-backed roots and design.
Direct Investing
- We invest across Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, and Series C stages.
- Primarily meant to support startups within the Dubai Future District in their earliest phases of growth and support them through value-added support of our shareholders and stakeholders of Dubai.
Fund of Funds
- We invest in incumbent regional VCs and international funds that demonstrate a presence in Dubai .
- Primarily meant to support the investors who are fueling the next wave of innovative companies.
For Startups
- We invest across Pre-seed and Seed stages under our Build strategy, and across Series A, Series B, and Series C stages under our Catalyst Strategy
- Primarily meant to support startups within the Dubai Future District in their earliest phases of growth and support them through value-added support of our shareholders and stakeholders of Dubai
For Funds
- We invest in incumbent regional VCs, international funds, as well as new and emerging fund managers that demonstrate a presence in Dubai
- Primarily meant to support the investors who are fueling the next wave of innovative companies
Sector Focus
We invest in the startups and funds that are driving innovation across the verticles of Future of Finance and Future Economies.
Future of Finance
Our Future of Finance thesis reflects the potential we see across sub-sectors of FinTech, RegTech, and LegalTech as the challenge larger industries, create new opportunities and empower users of all types of have access to safe, well-governed financial services.
Future Economies
Our Future Economies thesis is defined by how we see the world economy evolving between now and 2050 and the issues it’s expected to face over the course of these 30 years.
Our Fund Structure
We are anchored by the Dubai International Finance Centre and the Dubai Future Foundation with an initial AED 1 billion in committed capital.
Our fund structure is evergreen, which means we aren’t beholden to the 10-year lifespan of a typical VC fund. This allows us to focus on investing in technologies with various return horizons and take a longer-term view on returns. The open-ended nature of the fund aligns with our government-backed roots and desire to invest in truly innovative technologies of the future.
Our Geographic Focus
Our mandate is to boost startup, venture capital investing and business activity in Dubai and the wider region.
We view our geographic scope in terms of several concentric circles, starting with Dubai at the center, followed by the UAE, MENAPT (Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey) region and then the MEASA (Middle East, Africa and South Asia) regions.
