On day one of the annual Abu Dhabi Finance Week, International Cricketer and Entrepreneur, Shikhar Dhawan announced that he would be launching a new $75 Million Global Investment Fund (consisting of a greenshoe option of $25 Million). The proposition is a multi-stage fund focused on Innovation across the Sports spectrum. This is the first organised VC fund by an Asian Sportsperson and the first by an Indian Celebrity. 

ADGM is home to a growing number of local, regional and international financial and non-financial institutes in a vibrant business ecosystem underpinned by innovation and a robust regulatory framework. 

The announcement by Shikhar Dhawan, his partners & team at the LP-GP Summit by 256 Network (A private, invite-only organisation of LPs/GPs worldwide) on 14th November 2022 during Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) held at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) ; to an audience congregating global financial market leaders from a wide array of backgrounds who gathered at ADGM to address strategic macroeconomic and financial topics that shape global, regional and industry perspectives and themes for the years to come.

The deployment of funds will be global in nature, as is the LP community. The fund will also have other prominent sporting personalities from across the Globe representing multiple sports as LP Ambassadors. Through this unique network of GP’s and LP’s, Da One Global Ventures (DOGV) will provide unprecedented access to an ecosystem worldwide which will accelerate and mobilise new propositions with unique positioning. 

Shikhar Dhawan known famously as an Indian cricketer, a left-handed opening batsman and occasional captain of the India national cricket team - he captains Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League and Delhi in first-class cricket. For his notable contributions to the Indian Men's National Cricket Team, Shikhar Dhawan was awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award by President in 2021. 

“I am elated to start a new inning & embark on this journey in the world of venture capital. All this would not have been possible without the support of my commercial partners and the founding team’s commitment to this fund, in readiness for this week’s announcement and targeted deployment in Q1 2023-24," said Shikhar Dhawan

He added, "Da One Global Ventures (DOGV) will go beyond traditional investing models and will provide domain knowledge unprecedented access to sporting ecosystem across the globe. We are making a humble beginning but aim to scale this to greater heights and aspire to set new benchmarks for leading in Venture Capital, Sports and Technology. I have much gratitude to sports & I look forward to contribution of this fund to the economic strength and growth of Sports.” 

This year has been a spectacular year for SportsTech with investments to the tune of $12 billion already. That is more than the total of the preceding three years combined and multiple segments illustrating rapid growth in this dynamic industry. 

Da One Global Ventures (DOGV) is in active discussions with various relevant stakeholders across the globe and further developments will be announced in due course. Da One Global Ventures (DOGV) will also incubate a SportsTech Accelerator & eSports Venture studio as distinguishing verticals within its’ platform.