UAE’s Crescent Enterprises Commits $68 Million to Expand Its Venture Arm CE-Creates
- ByStartupStory | November 2, 2025
UAE’s Crescent Enterprises Commits $68 Million to Expand Its Venture Arm CE-Creates
Crescent Enterprises, a leading UAE-based multinational conglomerate, has announced a significant investment of AED 250 million (approximately $68 million) to scale up CE-Creates, its dedicated venture-building platform focused on nurturing high-growth startups from the UAE to global markets. This move marks a major expansion of CE-Creates’ role as a builder and scaler of purpose-driven startups that combine local impact with global competitiveness.
Operating as a sector-agnostic venture studio, CE-Creates aims to deploy staged, patient capital alongside deep operational expertise and extensive ecosystem access. The platform supports the entire startup lifecycle—from idea validation and MVP development to go-to-market execution and scale-up—by benchmarking progress against clear milestones to reduce risk and accelerate growth.
Crescent Enterprises appointed serial entrepreneur Rakhil Fernando as the new Head of CE-Creates to sharpen execution and lead the company’s venture-building efforts. Fernando brings robust experience from founding and scaling multiple tech startups across Southeast Asia, including AI-driven financial platforms and buy-now-pay-later services.
CE-Creates has already helped catalyze several ventures, such as Kava & Chai, a specialty coffee and tea brand celebrating regional heritage; ION, a sustainable mobility solutions provider; and BreakBread, a community-focused digital food experience platform.
Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises, highlighted the UAE’s ambition: “The UAE has become a launchpad for serious builders, and our collective vision is for the country to be known as the start-up capital of the world. With CE-Creates, our venture-building platform, we’re helping entrepreneurs convert purpose into performance – locally proven, globally competitive.”
Tushar Singhvi, Deputy CEO and Head of Investments at Crescent Enterprises, described the investment as a new chapter for regional entrepreneurship: “Our model blends disciplined capital deployment with on-the-ground operating support in ways traditional venture funding often does not—creating the conditions for sustainable growth and international scale.”
This strategic expansion of CE-Creates aligns with the UAE government’s broader goal to position the nation as a global entrepreneurship hub, while cultivating homegrown ventures that can scale internationally.
In summary, Crescent Enterprises’ $68 million commitment to CE-Creates strengthens its venture-building capabilities, providing startups with hands-on support and capital to thrive. This investment reflects the company’s dedication to fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem in the UAE and the MENA region, driving innovation and inclusive economic growth.
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