ABAN Wins Prestigious SMB Advisor Awards 2008 Category for Supporting Region's SMEs 

Walid Hanna, CEO, ABAN

Dubai: 22 November, 2008 – The Arab Business Angels Network (ABAN), conceived by the Young Arab Leaders (YAL), with Dubai International Capital as its founder and lead investor, has won this year’s prestigious SMB Advisor Awards in the ‘Dependable Partner: Business Support Services’ category.

Walid Hanna, CEO of ABAN, received the Editor’s Choice award in the ‘Dependable Partner: Business Support Services’ category, presented to him at a gala awards ceremony on 19 November at the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai. ABAN was selected as the winner based on its ability to meet and exceed the selection criteria of: “Are you a shoulder to lean on for SMBs, a friend in need and a pillar of support? Banks, consultants, support partners, investors, system integrators and the likes: How well have you helped businesses grow?”.

In addition to receiving the award, Hanna participated in the SMB Advisor Forum, held on the same day as the awards ceremony, as a subject-matter expert. The forum included a series of educational panel discussions aimed at addressing current challenges faced by businesses. ABAN shared its insights on a number of topics including free zone commercial activity, the importance of legal and commercial due diligence, insurance, and global business opportunities. 

Walid Hanna, CEO of ABAN, said:

We are delighted to receive one of the most coveted awards given in recognition of our role as a key support partner for SMEs in the Middle East. This award further motivates us to strengthen our determination to nurture the development and growth of SMBs across the region.

Hanna added:

Being part of Dubai International Capital’s corporate social responsibility program, our mission is to fill the equity gap faced by entrepreneurs in the region. Today’s entrepreneurs are tomorrow’s business leaders, and represent a large employment pool for our youth in the future.

Recently, Hanna addressed the delegates of the Private Equity World MENA 2008 conference, a 4-day conference with panel discussions that included topics on MENA venture capital and angel investing.

The Arab Business Angels Network is scheduled to host its next matchmaking event on the 14th of December at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to introduce a fresh set of entrepreneurs to regional investors. The event will be preceded by an Entrepreneurs Training Workshop to help educate entrepreneurs on how pitch to investors and how to structure their company to become investment-ready.

Angel investors are essentially individuals who provide seed capital to young, promising businesses. Unlike banks and other lending institutions, Angel investors take on a more intimate relationship with the enterprises they invest in, offering everything from consulting services and commercial support to exposure with suppliers, clients, and customers. In essence, an Angel investor is both an investor and partner, and rides the high periods and absorbs the downturns alongside the SMEs they invest in.

The Arab Business Angels Network (ABAN) provides the link between entrepreneurs and angel investors, while acting as a vehicle to promote entrepreneurship and build a community of ‘Angel Investors’ across the Arab world.
Based in Dubai, ABAN aims to expand its network and help establish other networks particularly in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon, to complement the economic development objectives of the Arab world by facilitating creative and productive entrepreneurial ventures.

Notes to Editors

About Arab Business Angels Network

The Arab Business Angels Network (ABAN) was conceived by the Young Arab Leaders and Dubai Holding during the Clinton Initiative in September 2005, with Dubai International Capital as its founder and lead Angel.

As a Business Angels Network, ABAN is the link between entrepreneurs and Angel Investors. It acts as a vehicle to promote entrepreneurship and to build a community of Angel Investors across the Arab world.Based in Dubai, ABAN aims to build a network of angel investors across the region, particularly in the UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It will complement the economic development objectives of the Arab world by facilitating the development of creative and productive entrepreneurial ventures.

 ABAN invests through two main vehicles:
• Angel Investor Members: ABAN is creating a network of angel investors who will invest, with ABAN assistance, in high potential early stage ventures
• ABAN Seed Capital Funds targeting regional start-up companies
o $10m Seed Capital Fund
o $5m fund for women-led ventures Additional information about the Arab Business Angels Network LLC is available at: www.aban.ae.

About Dubai International Capital LLC:

Established in 2004, DIC is an international investment company with offices in Dubai and London focused on both private equity and public equity. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Dubai Holding, DIC manages an international portfolio of diverse assets that provide its stakeholders with value growth, diversification, and strategic investments. Assets under management total over US$13 billion. DIC focuses on three asset classes:

 DIC Private Equity: invests mainly in secondary buyouts in developed markets where it backs strong existing management teams over a medium to long time horizon. DIC PE has acquired businesses in a range of sectors in Europe and North America including:
- UK leisure company Tussauds Group for £800m (later merged with Merlin Entertainment Group to create the world’s second largest visitor attractions; DIC retains a 20% stake)
- UK engineering company Doncasters for £700m
- US engineering company FastenTech for $492m (later merged Doncasters with Fastentech creating world leader in turbine manufacture)
- UK hotel chain Travelodge for £675m,
- German industrial packaging manufacturer Mauser for €850m
- UK healthcare company Alliance Medical for £600m
- German producer of specialty alumina Almatis for US$ 1.2 billion

 DIC Global Equities: makes structured investments in large-cap, Fortune 500 global equities, that are forecast to deliver above average returns over the long term, either directly or via DIC’s US$1.4 billion Global Strategic Equities Fund (GSEF).

 DIC Emerging Markets: invests in a range of asset classes in emerging markets.
- Equity investments: include significant stakes in the UAE-based luxury retailer Rivoli Group and Singapore-based True Group, a leading provider of wellness services in South East Asia, KEF Holdings a UAE based manufacturer of steel castings and valves, in addition to a US$200 million investment in Oger Telecom, a leading regional telecom conglomerate.
- Sector / country-specific investment funds: DIC has established several such as Ishraq, a US$150 million investment company bringing the Holiday Inn Express brand to the Middle East; the US$500 million MENA Infrastructure Fund, which invests in infrastructure projects in the Middle East and North Africa, and Jordan Dubai Capital, a US$300 million investment company that targets private equity opportunities in Jordan and most recently China Dubai Capital, a US$1 billion fund that will target opportunities in China’s growing economy.

DIC was named MENA Private Equity Firm of the Year in the 6th annual Awards for Excellence in Private Equity Europe 2008, organised by Dow Jones Private Equity News.

Information about Dubai International Capital LLC is available at: www.dubaiic.com.
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