{"id":52160,"date":"2025-10-20T17:18:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/?p=52160"},"modified":"2025-10-20T17:45:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:45:28","slug":"crescent-enterprises-announces-a-68-million-investment-program-to-expand-its-venture-building-platform-ce-creates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/2025\/10\/crescent-enterprises-announces-a-68-million-investment-program-to-expand-its-venture-building-platform-ce-creates\/","title":{"rendered":"Crescent Enterprises Announces a $68 Million Investment Program to Expand Its Venture-Building Platform  CE-Creates"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"4600\" data-end=\"4735\">Strategic Investment: $68 million (AED 250 million) allocated to accelerate venture creation and scaling in the UAE and globally.<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"4600\" data-end=\"4735\">Leadership Appointment: Rakhel Fernando joins as Head of CE-Creates, bringing proven experience from Yabi, Koko, and Daraz (Alibaba Group).<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"4885\" data-end=\"5048\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"4888\" data-end=\"5048\">Structured Venture Model: A four-stage approach combining capital, operational expertise, and market access to turn ideas into scalable global businesses.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"229\" data-end=\"614\">Crescent Enterprises, a UAE-based diversified business group, announced the launch of a $68 million (AED 250 million) investment program to expand the scope and impact of its venture-building platform, CE-Creates. The new funding marks a strategic step toward establishing the platform as a leading hub for building and scaling high-growth ventures with a global footprint.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"616\" data-end=\"864\">The announcement coincides with the appointment of Rakhel Fernando as the new Head of CE-Creates, reflecting the company\u2019s ambition to accelerate the creation of globally competitive startups that deliver long-term value and sustainable impact.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"866\" data-end=\"1248\">As a multi-sector venture-building platform, CE-Creates combines long-term capital, operational expertise, and access to global business networks to transform early-stage ideas into scalable, internationally competitive companies. The initiative strengthens Crescent Enterprises\u2019 position as a key driver of entrepreneurship and innovation across the MENA region and beyond.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"1250\" data-end=\"1336\">Commenting on the announcement, Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises, stated:<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"1337\" data-end=\"1644\">\n<p data-start=\"1339\" data-end=\"1644\">\u201cThe UAE has become a global launchpad for ambitious entrepreneurs. Our shared vision is for it to be recognized as the world\u2019s startup capital. Through CE-Creates, our venture-building platform, we empower founders to transform their ambitions into impactful achievements that compete on a global level.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"1646\" data-end=\"1748\">Over the years, CE-Creates has successfully incubated a range of innovative ventures, including:<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"1749\" data-end=\"2071\">\n<li data-start=\"1749\" data-end=\"1863\">\n<p data-start=\"1751\" data-end=\"1863\">Kava &amp; Chai \u2013 celebrating the region\u2019s rich coffee and tea heritage through contemporary caf\u00e9 experiences.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1864\" data-end=\"1958\">\n<p data-start=\"1866\" data-end=\"1958\">ION \u2013 a sustainable mobility solutions provider advancing eco-friendly transportation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1959\" data-end=\"2071\">\n<p data-start=\"1961\" data-end=\"2071\">BreakBread \u2013 a digital platform connecting communities through shared dining and curated food experiences.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2073\" data-end=\"2213\">Tushar Singhvi, Deputy CEO and Head of Investments at Crescent Enterprises, emphasized the strategic importance of the new investment:<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"2214\" data-end=\"2546\">\n<p data-start=\"2216\" data-end=\"2546\">\u201cThe allocation of AED 250 million marks a defining milestone for CE-Creates and for the region\u2019s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our model combines disciplined capital deployment with direct operational support\u2014a rare approach in traditional venture finance\u2014creating an environment for sustainable growth and international expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2548\" data-end=\"2854\">CE-Creates follows a structured, stage-based model that progresses from idea validation to prototype development, market testing, and eventually global scaling. Each stage is evaluated through clear performance indicators and milestones, ensuring market fit, reducing risk, and accelerating growth.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2856\" data-end=\"2932\">In his first remarks as Head of CE-Creates, Rakhel Fernando commented:<\/p>\n<blockquote dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"2933\" data-end=\"3205\">\n<p data-start=\"2935\" data-end=\"3205\">\u201cHaving founded and scaled companies from the ground up, I understand the challenges entrepreneurs face. At CE-Creates, founders gain access to capital, operational tools, and partnerships that enable them to scale confidently across regional and international markets.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"3207\" data-end=\"3801\">Fernando brings extensive experience in entrepreneurship and operational leadership, having held senior roles in global technology and financial ventures. Before joining Crescent Enterprises, he served as CEO of Yabi, a leading AI-driven personal finance and financial-wellness platform, and as Founder and CEO of Koko, one of the region\u2019s leading \u201cBuy Now Pay Later\u201d and consumer-payments platforms under Alibaba Group. He also served as Managing Director at Daraz (Alibaba Group), where he led the platform\u2019s expansion to become one of South Asia\u2019s largest e-commerce players.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"3803\" data-end=\"4273\">This initiative underscores Crescent Enterprises\u2019 commitment to innovation, sustainability, and inclusive growth, aligning with the UAE\u2019s vision to strengthen its global position as a center for entrepreneurship and digital transformation. It also supports the national campaign launched by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism under the theme \u201cThe UAE: The World\u2019s Startup Capital\u201d, which highlights the country\u2019s leadership in fostering startups and SMEs.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"4275\" data-end=\"4567\">Notably, the UAE ranked first globally for the fourth consecutive year in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2024\u20132025 report, recognized as the world\u2019s top destination for entrepreneurship among 56 economies, reflecting its strong policies and investor-friendly ecosystem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Strategic Investment: $68 million (AED 250 million) allocated to accelerate venture creation and scaling in the UAE and globally. Leadership Appointment: Rakhel Fernando joins as Head of CE-Creates, bringing proven experience from Yabi, Koko, and Daraz (Alibaba Group). Structured Venture Model: A four-stage approach combining capital, operational expertise, and market access to turn ideas into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":52154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"post_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1772],"tags":[6229],"class_list":["post-52160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startups","tag-crescent-enterprises"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}