The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has signed a partnership with Japan's Mizuho Financial Group to support 6,000 Japanese start-ups. Companies registered with Mizuho will gain access to DIFC's innovation ecosystem, including market-entry and soft-landing support through the DIFC Innovation Hub.

The start-ups will also be able to use Ignyte, DIFC's flagship digital innovation platform, which offers curated investor and corporate connections, mentorship and ecosystem programmes to help companies scale and expand internationally.

The announcement was made on the third day of Dubai Future Finance Week, where DIFC also revealed that the number of wealth and asset management firms in its ecosystem has exceeded 600, as institutional investors and family offices increasingly set up regional headquarters in Dubai.

DIFC is home to the UAE's only cluster of Japanese financial firms, including Mizuho Bank, Mitsubishi Corporation and 17 other companies, which together employ around 560 people. Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, said Japanese companies have found value for 20 years in the centre's infrastructure, legal and regulatory clarity, talent pool and role as a gateway to the region.

The UAE is Japan's top trading partner among GCC countries, receiving 52 per cent of Japan's exports to the Gulf, and accounts for 80 per cent of Japanese investment in the Middle East. UAE investment in Japan has doubled over the past five years.

(Source: Khaleej Times)