Launch Vc Fund In Difc With 10 Leaves

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Launch your VC Fund with 10 Leaves:
The fastest way to launch your Venture Capital Fund in the DIFC. We have everything sorted for you, in one seamless solution!
Interestingly, 10 Leaves has managed to get the first three approvals for VC Fund managers under the new regime, with many more in the pipeline.

1. Structure your VC Fund:
Tailor your fund to your needs: investment objectives, liquidity mechanics, waterfall, carried interest, legal structure.
2. Regulatory Authorisations:
Liaising with the DFSA to complete the approvals for the fund manager and the VC Fund.
3. Documentation:
Our legal arm – 10 Leaves Legability, assists in the preparation of all fund documentation including Private Placement Memorandums or PPMs, Investment Management Agreements, Subscription Agreements and Fund Constitutions.
4. Fund Accounting and Administration:
Assistance in accounting, VAT advisory, filing of regulatory returns and risk management through our exclusive partners.
5. Outsourced Compliance:
Every VC Fund Manager in the DIFC is required to appoint a compliance ...
... and money-laundering reporting officer once capital is committed to the VC Fund. We provide compliance outsourcing services for fund managers and VC funds.
6. Bank account opening:
Assistance in opening bank accounts with leading banks in the UAE
7. Fund Distribution Consulting:
Assistance in completing the required registrations of Fund Passporting for fund distribution in the wider UAE.
8. VC Fund Database Selection:
Consultations on registrations and publishing on leading fund databases, for promotions to their extensive curated audiences.

Our differentiators:
1. We are a specialized consultancy and Fund Launching Platform, and we simplify the deployment and maintenance of complex legal entities like VC Funds.
2. Launching a Fund in the DIFC was traditionally an extremely cumbersome process complete with endless paperwork and coordinating with multiple service providers. It was also a very costly affair, with prices north of US$ 40,000 just for fund documentation.
3. We have digitised and largely automated the process to make it accessible and save you time and money.

The DIFC Application Process:

The DIFC VC Fund application process commences with formal introductions to the DIFC and the DFSA.

Following the introductory call, a detailed online application is compiled, comprising policies, processes and other related documentation. The KYC and associated forms of all key individuals are also prepared for submissions.

The formal application is then sent across to the DFSA, who reviews the pack over a period of 7-10 business days, and then accepts it. The detailed review process then commences, and the DFSA has an internal target of just 7 working days for this to be completed.

The regulator maintains communication with the applicant at all times during the review, reverting with an initial review 2 days into the application, and then follow-up reviews thereafter. The DFSA also meets with the SEO, FO and CO/MLRO designates, and conducts a detailed interview with them.

An in-principle approval is issued in case the application is successful. The applicant then proceeds to satisfy the in-principle conditions, and in the case of VC funds, this mainly involves the setting up of a legal structure. Other tasks include finalization of auditors and obtaining professional indemnity insurance for the firm.

Once done, a final submission is made to the DFSA, following which the regulator issues the Financial Service Permissions and the process is then complete. The firm is now open for business.

The VC Team:
Rohit Ghai:
Rohit’s background in business consultancy was key in his founding of 10 Leaves Limited, a niche consultancy with a focus on regulatory authorisations in the DIFC and the ADGM. He spun off three verticals from this business, including 10 Zone, a business consultancy that provides turnkey solutions to individuals and businesses seeking to setup a base in the UAE, tenl.io, a venture that bridges startups from the UAE to Luxembourg, Berlin, Riyadh and Bengaluru and Legability, a legal consultancy that specialises in corporate commercial work in the UAE and Luxembourg, including investment fund structuring and documentation.

Rohit has consulted on market entry strategies, management and fund structures in multiple jurisdictions worldwide, including onshore in the United Arab Emirates, free zones and offshore centres like the Cayman Islands and Mauritius. He has also consulted on establishing onshore regulated structures in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), including credit provider, asset management, private banking, fund management, brokerage and investment advisor licenses. He also has extensive capabilities in Fintech, and currently also advises and project manages crowdfunding, robo-advisory and money service businesses that seek regulatory authorisations in the UAE.

Being an entrepreneur and investor himself, Rohit consults startups in the technology sector and acts as a director and mentor for early-stage entities.

His areas of professional expertise include:
Strategy.
Fund structuring.
Fintech.
Venture Capital.
Business consultancy.
Business Operations & Management.
Market Entry Strategies.
Digital Transformation.

Bishr Shiblaq:
Bishr established and headed the MENA office of the leading Luxembourg law firm, Arendt & Medernach for around 10 years. In this capacity he advised leading financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, MNCs and family offices in both Europe and the Middle East on all issues relating to the structuring of international transactions and the setting-up of regulated or unregulated investment structures. Bishr also specialises in finance-related matters, in particular structured finance, securitisations, asset finance, Islamic finance, as well as in private wealth.

Bishr has been recognised by MENA Fund Manager Magazine for six consecutive years as amongst the thirty most influential individuals providing services to the MENA funds industry and by Islamica500 for three consecutive time as amongst the fifty leading individuals in the Islamic economy.

He is a regular author on finance in various journals and other specialised publications and is regularly invited to speak on fund-related topics at conferences in Europe, the MENA region and Asia.
Before joining Arendt & Medernach in Luxembourg and establishing its Dubai Office in 2008, he worked for several years within the legal department of a leading research institution funded by the Federal Government of Germany.

Bishr holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Cologne (Germany), as well as a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International Economic Law from the University of Warwick (UK).
He speaks English, German, French, Arabic, and Spanish.

Sachin Auchoybur – Partner:
Sachin is a Barrister at Law and Legal Consultant, with over 20 years of experience in Common Law and Mauritian Law. He has advised clients both domestically and internationally, on Commercial Law and Taxation, with a focus on the structuring of investment funds. Sachin holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Buckingham, and is a member of the Bar of England and Wales and the Mauritius Bar Association.

Ali Awais – Partner:
Ali has over 20 years of experience in providing governments, sponsors and financial institutions strategic advice on cross-border investments, including Public Private Partnership structures, legislative and policy reforms. He is a Master of Laws from George Washington University, School of Law, Washington D.C.

Master of Laws (L.L.M.) from George Washington University.
Capabilities – Legal, Finance, Private Equity.

Get in touch:
Authorisation enquiries – connect@10leaves.ae
Legal documentation – connect@ability.legal

Visit us at www.10leaves.ae , www.ability.legal

To know more about VC Fund Formation In the UAE, Read the below Article: https://10leaves.ae/publications/difc/vc-fund-formation-in-the-uae-vc-fund-formation-introduction