Italy’s GKSD to invest 125m euros in smart clinics in UAE and Mena region

The global investment platform, Investopia, has revealed one of the key outcomes of its annual conference held on 2-3 March 2023 in Abu Dhabi, which is the launch of ‘Smart Clinics’ in the United Arab Emirates and the wider Middle East region, a new concept in the healthcare sector that focuses on improving life quality and establishing wellness pathways. Technology and precision healthcare are key components of the Smart Clinics programme.

The announcement came during the signing of a partnership with the Italian GKSD Investment Holding Group and Gruppo San Donato (GSD), the leading private hospital group in Italy. The MoU was signed during Investopia 2023 Conference by Abdulla Al Saleh, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy, and Paolo Rotelli, Vice-President of Gruppo San Donato, in the presence of Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia. In March 2023, the two groups, GKSD Investment Holding and Gruppo San Donato, announced an investment of 125 million euros plus in new projects in the UAE and the region, including university infrastructure and smart clinics.

Abdulla Al Saleh, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy, commented: “The main objective of Investopia platform is to create a global system for investment in new economies, like the healthcare technology sector. We are pleased to witness the launch of smart clinics in the UAE during the Investopia 2023 conference in collaboration with GKSD Investment Holding and Gruppo San Donato. This confirms the vital role that Investopia plays today as a global business destination where investors can meet and explore investment opportunities in the new economic sectors.”

Kamel Ghribi, President of GKSD Investment Holding, said: “The contribution of the UAE in promoting economic development, through the Investopia platform, is commendable. Investopia aims to drive global investments in new economic sectors, including healthcare. We are very proud of our strong capabilities in healthcare management and services including acute care treatment, medical education, scientific research in the field of gene and cellular therapies worldwide, as well as the recent strides made in the development of precision medicine, aided by artificial intelligence. We remain focused on expanding cooperation in the Mena region, sharing our GKSD expertise”.

Paolo Rotelli, President - Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and Vice President of Gruppo San Donato said: “The development of precision Medicine is supported by the advancement in gene therapy and editing as well as innovation in technology. Development in these area’s will certainly improve the quality of life. At GKSD and Gruppo San Donato, our focus is to provide for a healthcare infrastructure and expertise that aims to improve life quality by focusing on ‘wellness pathways’. We are proud of our scientists and research team that has a number of ongoing research programs underway at our labs in Italy including regeneration of the brain. We are also working on artificial intelligence supported diagnostic programs that lead to a number of benefits. We are delighted to be a partner for Investopia 2023 to support awareness and development of modern healthcare in the precision medicine, gene therapy and editing”.

Technology in the healthcare is one of the main targeted sectors by Investopia, whose vision revolves around investing in sectors of the new economy.

The annual Investopia Conference 2023 hosted a session about the “Innovations in Precision Healthcare” in which entrepreneurs, academics and executives discussed the next frontier of innovation in life sciences. In the light of global predictions that precision medicine will be the new economy in the field of biotechnology, the participants in the session also discussed role of the bioeconomy, which is one of the most prominent sectors in the new economies.

Bioeconomy includes all economic fields based on research and scientific activities aimed at understanding the mechanism and processes of genes and molecules. Investopia conference 2023 focused on the theme “Envisioning Opportunities in Times of Change” and three sub-themes: Envisioning Opportunities in Today’s Economy, The Future of the Wealth of Nations, and Growth Opportunities in Times of Decarbonization. The conference this year included 35 sessions and roundtables, and brought together more than 2000 participants like investors, government officials, thought leaders and entrepreneurs, from more than 40 countries.

Investopia is a global platform designed to drive global investments, generate growth, accelerate innovation, and contribute to the prosperity of future generations. Investopia is supported by several local and global partners including Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Crypto.com, Mubadala, Invest in Sharjah, SALT, IFC, iConnections, Emirates Development Bank, GKSD, MEVCA.

Initiated by the UAE Government, as one of the major strategic initiatives under the ‘Projects of the 50’, aiming to build the best and most dynamic economy in the world, and held under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy, Investopia works to create a new ecosystem where world’s investment stakeholders work together to formulate innovative models for the future business environment and partnership patterns that will generate new investment opportunities in the new economies.