At the second Sushi Tech Tokyo conference, Abu Dhabi-based start-ups showcased their innovative solutions, highlighting the growing presence of Emirati businesses on the global stage. Held in Tokyo, the event attracted over 600 companies and saw more than 50,000 attendees from across the globe. The conference covered a wide array of industries, including architecture, food, health, finance, energy, sports, entertainment, space, web3, and generative AI, providing an invaluable networking platform for emerging businesses.
Among the notable exhibitors from Abu Dhabi were the Garcia Group, presenting their smart and sustainable agricultural solutions for the UAE, and the Rafiq App, designed to facilitate maintenance and decoration services. Many start-ups were supported by the Khalifa Fund, which helps SMEs attract global investments.
HyveGeo, a bio and climate tech company from Abu Dhabi, garnered attention for its innovative approach to transforming dry desert sand into arable soil within a month, a process that typically takes five years. The company’s CEO, Abdulaziz Bin Redha, emphasized the need for investment to scale the technology, which aims to combat desertification and ensure food security.
Wafa Al Ghallabi, co-founder of Nutrigenics Care & Lawa.ai, highlighted her platform’s use of large language models for curating food health insights. Al Ghallabi, a PhD student at the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, has already raised over Dh200,000 ($54,450) to support her tech-driven health solutions.
The exhibition also saw discussions on strengthening the UAE-Japan economic relationship, with Ahmed Alwan, CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Hub71, noting that over ten start-ups from the UAE were exploring opportunities in Japan while identifying potential investment and business deals. He described the collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Japan as a “two-way street,” with both sides benefiting from shared growth.
Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, highlighted the UAE’s strategy to expand economic partnership agreements (EPAs) globally. He also shared that investments from Japan into the UAE have more than doubled over the last five years, contributing significantly to the region’s economic expansion. Furthermore, discussions are ongoing to finalize an EPA with Japan by the end of the year, which is expected to further enhance the UAE-Japan partnership.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike also reflected on the transformation of Abu Dhabi, recalling her first visit in the 1970s when it was a small fishing village. She praised the UAE’s remarkable development into a competitive international hub.
At the Business Connect event in Tokyo, Mr. Al Zaabi participated in the signing of several trade deals with Japanese companies, marking another milestone in the growing economic ties between the UAE and Japan. He expressed optimism that the anticipated free-trade agreement, set to be finalized later this year, will increase trade and investment flows between the two nations.
