Member Article

North East investment leader to advise on £500m UAE innovation fund

North East investment authority Dr Yvonne Gale will be working with the United Arab Emirates’ government on the investment of a new £500m innovation fund, after being named on an exclusive advisory panel.

Chief executive at NEL Fund Managers, Dr Gale has been selected as one of 11 members of the Advisory & Decision Committee to the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund, a UAE Ministry of Finance-backed initiative to support local innovators.

Alongside fellow committee members, Yvonne was recruited by consultants PwC who were tasked by the UAE government with finding expert individuals who could offer a diverse range of ideas and knowledge.

Yvonne recently flew to Dubai to attend the launch of the Fund, which was carried out by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and to take part in the UAE’s inaugural Innovation Week, which showcased a variety of innovative initiatives from across both the public and private sectors.

Yvonne revealed: “There are many parallels between the aims of the Innovation Fund and the work that NEL continues to undertake in terms of using financial instruments to encourage growth and entrepreneurialism, and my experience of enabling this to occur in North East England is directly relevant to what the UAE government is looking to achieve.”

The Innovation Fund has been set up as part of part of the UAE’s continuing drive to diversify its economy through building its own base of small and medium-sized businesses and to thus reduce its reliance on imports from overseas.

Yvonne is one of only three UK-based members of the Advisory & Decision Committee, and will travel to Dubai twice a year as part of her role, as well as working remotely at other times alongside her duties with NEL.

Yvonne continued: “The UAE is very committed to its long-term strategic goal of creating a diversified world class economy, and there is a huge drive towards providing innovators and businesses across the area with the infrastructure required to achieve it.

“A great deal of value is being placed by the UAE government on the advice that the Committee will provide in support of its decision making processes, and its members have a wide variety of high level academic and business experience on which to draw.”

She added: “Being asked to be part of such a high profile project reflects well on the investment work that NEL has been carrying out in the North East for over a quarter of a century, and also gives me an opportunity to develop my own knowledge in ways that will benefit what we do here in the future.”

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