As the UAE continues to cement itself as a hub for startups in the region, the government has just announced it will grant long-term visas for the top 100 start-ups shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is ‘characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human,’ according to Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

The 100 startups, all praised for helping shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution, have been selected and the announcement was made at the MENA World Economic Forum in Jordan.

King Abdullah II of Jordan opened the event

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The move builds partnerships between the government and private sectors

Abdulla bin Touq, Secretary General of the UAE Cabinet announced the winners.

At the forum he stated, “the UAE is a global incubator for emerging innovations. Our innovation-friendly legislative structure is essential for start-up companies. This collaboration with the World Economic Forum to grant long-term visas to the top 100 Arab start-ups reflects our commitment to facilitate businesses, create an attractive and encouraging environment for growth, and underline the UAE’s position as a global destination for talents”.

The UAE is already home to 20% of the Arab world’s 100 most promising startups

The information comes from a World Economic Forum report. The UAE continues to foster a growth environment for start-ups, with the chosen 100 companies having access to “Area 2071” which ‘serves as a gateway and a platform to design the future, through encouraging creativity, fostering talents as well as attracting local and global partnerships’ and the recently inaugurated RegLab, the largest laboratory to anticipate and develop future laws governing the use and application of technology, according to Wam.ae.