Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has transformed the UAE-India partnership into a platform for shared innovation and opportunity, said Abdulnasser Alshaali, Ambassador of the UAE to the India, adding that the new agreement between First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and the CEPA Council represents a major step forward in enabling startups to scale between our nations. The pact “demonstrates the UAE’s continued commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and deepening capital and technology flows across the CEPA corridor,” he said during an event in the National Capital .
“Much of the investment comes from Abu Dhabi, but today Abu Dhabi is not just a source of capital; it is increasingly a destination for growth. With strong incentives and active collaboration with companies from Abu Dhabi, we are seeing excellent interest in investing and expanding further,” said Alshaali. FAB entered into a strategic partnership with the UAE-India CEPA Council (UICC) to accelerate cross-border entrepreneurship and empower high-potential Indian start-ups to scale globally through the UAE.
By connecting FAB’s extensive financial and banking capabilities with the CEPA Council’s flagship innovation platform, the partnership activates the innovation and investment pillars of the UAE–India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). As part of the partnership, FAB will support the UAE–India Start-Up Series, the UICC’s signature initiative designed to discover and empower India’s most promising early-stage ventures. Since its launch in June 2025, the Series has received over 10,000 applications, making it the largest start-up initiative of its kind in India.
Under the agreement, FAB will provide one of the five winning start-ups from the Series with a dedicated soft-landing package in the UAE.
