• UAE-based property developer Aldar, has invested  in global real estate technology fund Taronga Ventures.
• Taronga Ventures will introduce opportunities for Aldar to further diversify its business and increase technology transfer to the region.
• Founded in 2004 by Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Aldar is a real estate developer and manager in the UAE with a diversified operating model. Meanwhile, Taronga Ventures is an Australia-based real estate technology investor operating across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Press release:

Aldar Properties (‘Aldar’) has increased its exposure to global real estate technology funds through a partnership with Taronga Ventures, a leading real estate technology investor operating across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The investment forms part of Aldar’s broader innovation strategy, promoting the adoption of disruptive technologies within the real estate sector.

Taronga Ventures (‘Taronga’) has created a global ecosystem to advance and scale innovation-driven companies by using its fund to invest in these companies and provide strategic access to its network of world-leading real estate co-investors.

Through the partnership with Taronga Ventures, Aldar will gain access to technology co-investment opportunities providing additional revenue streams and new efficiencies for Aldar’s portfolio. Simultaneously, the opportunities will allow Aldar to forge strategic partnerships that deepen technology knowledge transfer and ideation in the Middle East. 

This partnership represents Aldar’s fifth real estate technology fund investment and diversifies Aldar’s exposure to the sector, through Taronga Ventures’ global mandate and positioning in the APAC region. In line with Aldar’s efforts and commitment to supporting decarbonisation across the real estate sector, Taronga Ventures is also a certified carbon-neutral platform that prioritises collaboration with companies that align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The investment is Aldar’s first in a real estate fund in the APAC region, where investment in PropTech is expected to reach $26 billion by 2024, according to UNISSA, a global platform for PropTech procurement.

Maan Al Awlaqi, Aldar’s Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation, said: “Aldar’s innovation journey continues to accelerate at a rapid pace. By tapping into technology and tech-enabled companies across the world, Aldar is not only able to further diversify its business, but crucially, it is able to facilitate the transfer of innovation to the Middle East’s real estate market. Taronga Ventures’ focus on the APAC region, as well as its ability to identify technology companies that have far-reaching positive ESG impacts, aligns with our vision to advance the UAE’s property sector through new technology and sustainability-focused solutions.”

Jonathan Hannam, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Taronga Ventures, said: “Having worked and lived in Abu Dhabi we are delighted to be returning to this important region to support emerging technology companies, with such a strong and dynamic partner as Aldar. We can see immediate growth opportunities for many of the Fund’s investments within the existing Aldar portfolio and especially in new developments being undertaken by the group. We will also be working closely with Aldar to further develop the technology ecosystem in the Middle East.”

The investment in the Taronga Ventures fund adds to Aldar’s investments in four other real estate technology funds. These investments are from one tenet of the company’s framework to drive forward innovative practices, alongside its focus on corporate innovation and incubation programmes for startups in complementary sectors. These startup programmes include the Aldar Scale Up programme, which focuses on enabling the development of the PropTech sector in the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Manassah programme, which is Aldar’s entrepreneurship incubator that is aimed at nurturing retail technology start-ups and talent in the MENA region.