InCountry opens Middle East Headquarters in Abu Dhabi’s Hub71, enables companies to adopt cloud software while meeting local data residency requirements

Abu Dhabi, UAE — April 21, 2020 — InCountry, the San Francisco based data residency-as-a-service platform, today announced the launch of its Middle East headquarters in Abu Dhabi’s Hub71, the tech ecosystem based in Abu Dhabi Global Market Square and backed by Mubadala. InCountry helps organizations securely store and process data in the cloud for regional companies, while meeting each country’s local data residency requirements. InCountry is typically used by financial services, healthcare, and other companies in highly regulated industries, and was recently named one of Fast Company’s world’s most innovative companies of 2020 and a Gartner Cool Vendor in data privacy.

Mubadala Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of the Mubadala Investment Company based in Abu Dhabi, is an existing investor in InCountry. “Our investment in InCountry provides us with access to a dynamic cloud software player providing a unique data residency service which has global potential,” said Ibrahim Ajami, Head of Mubadala Ventures at Mubadala Investment Company and Interim CEO of Hub71. “A key pillar of Mubadala Capital’s ventures’ strategy is to leverage our international network and facilitate the growth of our investments in key markets. We look forward to supporting InCountry in expanding its presence in the MENA region over the coming years.”

InCountry hired Khaled Lababidi as General Manager and Vice President of Middle East and North Africa. Khaled was most recently the Regional Director of the Middle East and North Africa for HSBC. He has extensive experience introducing innovative technologies into large corporates by running startup incubation initiatives with HSBC, VISA and Mashreq Bank. Khaled has held various senior positions at banks such as HSBC, BNP Paribas and FAB, and has closed debt and equity transactions in excess of USD 20 billion.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to grow InCountry in the Middle East and North Africa, especially the GCC region,” said Mr. Lababidi. “Having had extensive experience in the financial services industry, it’s inspiring to help introduce an innovative technology that helps retain data sovereignty, while allowing the latest modern cloud technologies to be adopted throughout the region.”

Peter Yared, the CEO of InCountry, states “the Middle East region has quickly become our top market and we are fortunate to have received such support from our partners in the region. Our philosophy of respecting each country’s data residency regulations and sovereignty, while enabling companies to adopt the latest cloud software has really resonated in the Middle East. We are pleased to establish our regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 under the leadership of Mr. Lababidi, launch our Arabic website, and take advantage of world-class talent in Abu Dhabi that will help us to continue inventing for our customers.”

InCountry is establishing its regional subsidiary in Abu Dhabi General Market (ADGM) and will be headquartered in Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 tech ecosystem alongside global startups, corporates, tech companies and VCs. Making for a great extension between the company’s existing locations, the new headquarters is conveniently located only a one-hour time zone away from InCountry’s engineering centers in Eastern Europe.

InCountry already runs hosting facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and other countries in the region, and is deepening its hosting arrangements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by developing a co-location agreement with the Saudi Telecom Company (STC), the largest telecommunications provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

InCountry has deep relationships with cloud software providers to help deploy products in the Gulf region, while meeting stringent data residency and sovereignty standards. “Thanks to our partners at InCountry, our prospects and customers in the GCC region can leverage Mambu Cloud Banking Platform where data protection regulations stipulate local data residency,” said Ben Golden, CTO at Mambu, a provider of cloud banking solutions.

“We’re excited to partner with InCountry to deliver Salesforce solutions that implement data residency,” said Souphien Akhirf, Managing Director of Cloudworks, a Salesforce Platinum Consulting Partner. “InCountry’s new certification as an official Salesforce ISV continues to validate Salesforce integration capabilities.”

The news comes on the heels of the InCountry’s recent announcement that the company has received three key compliance milestones including SOC 2 Type 2 Examination, SOC 3, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA/HiTech).

For more information, please visit https://incountry.com/

About InCountry

InCountry is a Data Residency-as-a-Service platform that securely stores and processes data in its country of origin. The company helps multinational companies scale amidst an era where global data compliance regulations are changing constantly and unpredictably. InCountry is backed by Caffeinated Capital, Felicis Ventures, Arbor Ventures, Ridge Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Charles River Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Parade Ventures, Mubadala Ventures and MState. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA with offices in Singapore, Sydney, Minsk and now in Abu Dhabi, UAE. To learn more, visit www.incountry.com.

About Hub71

Hub71, named after the UAE’s formation in 1971, is a tech ecosystem located in the heart of Abu Dhabi that brings together several key elements for startup success: access to capital, access to market opportunities, and a favorable business environment. Backed by Mubadala Investment Company – its growing international tech community of tech giants, venture capitalists, tech ecosystem players, and global startups can expect to benefit from an interconnected global network. Alongside strategic partners Microsoft, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Abu Dhabi Global Market; Hub71 is creating the optimal environment for transformative tech companies looking to maximize success, produce outstanding tech innovations, and scale globally. For the greater social and economic good of Abu Dhabi, Hub71 is a flagship initiative of the Dh50 billion economic accelerator program ‘Ghadan 21’, which means ‘tomorrow’ in Arabic. For more information visit www.hub71.com and follow us on @Hub71AD #Hub71.

Contact Information

Kayla Abbassi

Senior Account Manager

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kaylaa@vsc.co