Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, announced that it has invested in UK-based legaltech start-up, Clara.

Clara’sinnovative platform digitises and automates many of the legal tasks founders need to perform, including setting up companies in different jurisdictions.

The investment reflects the DIFC’s commitment to driving the automation and digitisation of legal services. The investment is by the DIFC FinTech Fund, a USD100 million fund announced in 2017 to help establish, grow and upscale start-up and growth stage companies seeking access to MEASA markets.

Additionally, recognising the growth opportunities associated with operating in DIFC, given the Centre is home to the largest and most comprehensive FinTech and innovation ecosystem in the region, under Clara’s new license, it will now be able to provide its streamlined corporate services platform to DIFC companies. This is the third jurisdiction to license Clara to set up companies.

Commenting on the announcement,Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, said: “DIFC continues to be a catalyst for innovation in the region by investing in businesses that can help transform the finance industry. We are therefore delighted to announce investment from DIFC’s FinTech Fund in Clara, a rapidly growing LegalTech start-up that will make doing business easier for early stage companies and other businesses that form part of the region’s largest financial services ecosystem.”

“Start-ups are looking for a new approach to help them overcome the pain and complexity of dealing with legal matters,” said Patrick Rogers, CEO and Co-Founder of Clara. “We are thrilled to be setting up in DIFC which will allow us to completely streamline the customer experience of incorporating DIFC entities – adding further value to the Clara platform, which digitises and automates start-up legals.”

Clara is led by a team of seasoned lawyers and technologists who have worked at some of the top companies within their sectors. The company’s platform automates many of the tasks currently performed by lawyers for start-ups including forming companies, drafting agreements, building cap tables, structuring data rooms and predictively educating founders on legal concepts. The company has raised USD3.5 million in seed financing from institutional investors, including 500 Startups and Techstars.