Fuel For Growth

History

2022: Relocation of headquarters to UAE

As it became known on February 14, 2022, the Fuel For Growth corporate venture fund of the Efko group of companies changes the geographical location of its headquarters - it will move from Moscow to the UAE. At the same time, work with investors in the Russian capital will continue.

As the representative of Efko told Kommersant, during 2022 it is planned to organize a pilot production in the UAE for key fund projects. Among them are plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products under the Hi! brand. Also, Fuel For Growth invests in the development of sweet proteins, cell nutrition and technologies in the field of transport. In addition, it is planned to launch pilot production of brazzein and monelin, localize the assembly of unmanned aerial vehicles and solid oxide fuel cells. The capitalization of the fund is $50 million.

Agricultural holding Efko transfers venture fund from Russia to UAE

We are interested in the Arab Emirates for several reasons. It is one of the logistics and geographical centers of the world. From here it is very convenient to work with consumers in the markets of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. But most importantly, our technologies in food products in this climate have the potential not only to provide food to local consumers, but also to be competitive in the export markets of the region, "said Sergey Ivanov, chairman of the fund's supervisory board.

Director of Sovekon Andrei Sizov, commenting on Efko's decision to move the headquarters of the venture fund to the UAE, noted that this country has a convenient tax regime for trade operations, risk hedging, etc. This is a favorable direction for companies from the Russian Federation from the point of view of geopolitics, and Russian agribusiness has long-standing ties with the region, he added.

Anton Imennov, Managing Partner of Pen & Paper Moscow Office, notes that the UAE, compared to Russia, provides a preferential tax regime, the country is not blacklisted, has a developed and reliable banking system.^[1]

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