| Crescent Enterprises | |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Key People: | Badr Jafar |
Crescent Enterprises is a multinational company headquartered in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The company operates through four platforms: CE-Operates, CE-Invests, CE-Ventures, and CE-Creates, across sectors that include ports and logistics, food and beverages, and business aviation, as well as across business verticals, such as private equity, venture capital, and business incubation.[1]
Crescent Enterprises is a subsidiary of the Crescent Group, a family business group operating in the MENA region since 1971. The Crescent Group's other subsidiary, Crescent Petroleum, is a privately-owned upstream oil and gas company in the Middle East.[2]
Crescent Enterprises was founded in 2007. The company initially operated through three platforms: CE-Operates, CE-Invests, and CE-Ventures. In 2014, the group launched business incubation platform CE-Creates to develop early-stage concepts into viable ventures.[3]
In 2017, the company reorganized its operations across the four platforms: CE-Operates, CE-Invests, CE-Ventures, and CE-Creates.[4]
The operating business division constitutes subsidiaries and affiliates in sectors such as ports and logistics, and power and engineering. CE-Operates' businesses include the Gulftainer Group and Momentum Logistics.
Gulftainer Group
Gulftainer is a privately-owned port management company. The company was formed in 1976 in the UAE to establish the Sharjah Container Terminal at Port Khalid. It currently operates in ports in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United States.[5]
In 2014, Gulftainer became the first Middle Eastern port operator with operations in the US, with a 35-year concession at Florida's Port Canaveral.[6] In March 2018, the company announced a 50-year concession to operate a second US port in Wilmington, Delaware through its US subsidiary GT USA Wilmington.[7]
In September 2021, Saudi Arabia-based Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company, a Gulftainer subsidiary, invested $50 million in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Commercial Port.[8]
Momentum Logistics
Momentum Logistics is Gulftainer's logistics subsidiary with headquarters at Sharjah Inland Container Depot. The company was established in 2008 and manages the group's transportation and logistics operations across the Middle East.[9]
The strategic investments division maintains a portfolio of diversified asset class investments. Its portfolio includes: Growthgate Capital, TVM Capital Healthcare Partners, among others.
The corporate venture capital unit was established in 2017 and invests in early- to late-stage startups with focus on tech-enabled solutions.[10] Companies CE-Ventures invested in include NerdWallet and cloud kitchen platform Kitopi.[11] In 2018, CE-Ventures acquired a minority stake in Dubai-based logistics company Transcorp.[12]
In December 2021, CE-Ventures led a $4 million funding round for Indian Ayurveda startup NirogStreet.[13] In 2022, the company led a $10 million funding round through a convertible note for secondhand gadget marketplace Northladder.[14]
The incubator platform was established in 2014 and focuses on developing new businesses internally.[15] In 2022, CE-Creates announced the merger of its portfolio with hatch & boost, an Abu Dhabi-based venture builder.[16] The merged portfolio of startups includes Kava and Chai, ION, BreakBread and World of Farming.
Crescent Enterprises is a member of several World Economic Forum initiatives, including the Edison Alliance, Shaping the Future of Digital Economy and New Value Creation, Shaping the Future of Mobility, New Economy and Society, and the Regional Action Group for MENA.[17] [18]
The organization is a founding partner of the Pearl Initiative,[19] [20] and a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact[21] and the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles.[22] In addition, it is a member of the WEF’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative.