Crescent Enterprises is a multinational company headquartered in 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.
Crescent Enterprises, created in 2007, 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.
History
Crescent Enterprises was founded in 2007. The company initially operated under three platforms, focusing on strategic investments and venture capital. In 2014, the group launched business incubation platform CE-Creates to develop early-stage concepts into viable ventures.[1]
In 2017, the company reorganized its operations across the four platforms: CE-Operates, CE Invests, CE-Ventures, and CE-Creates.[2][3]
CE-Operates
CE-Operates is a platform that 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.[4]
Gulftainer Group
Gulftainer was formed in 1976 in the UAE to operate the container terminal in the Middle East, the Sharjah Container Terminal at Port Khalid. As of 2025, it operates in ports in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the United States.[5] The company expanded its operations to Iraq in 2008, becoming the first international company to establish a container terminal at Umm Qasr port.[6] In 2013, Gulftainer acquired a 51% stake in Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company, gaining management of three terminals in Jeddah and Jubail.[7]
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.[8] In March 2018, the company won a 50- year concession to operate a second US port in Wilmington, Delaware through its US subsidiary GT USA Wilmington.[9] GT USA Wilmington later withdrew from developing the Port of Wilmington in 2023.[10] In September 2021, Gulf Stevedoring Contracting Company invested $50 million to expand Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Commercial Port, boosting its capacity to 1.8 million TEUs.[11]
Momentum Logistics
Momentum Logistics, based in Sharjah, is a logistics company founded in 2008. It operates across the Middle East, offering transportation, freight forwarding, and warehousing services.[12] The company later sold its shares in Avalon General Land Transport in August 2024.[13]
CE-Invests
CE-Invests is a strategic investment platform with a diversified portfolio that includes a minority stake in Gama Aviation Plc, partnerships with Growthgate Capital and TVM Capital Healthcare, and participation in the Siraj Palestine Fund I.[14][15] CE-Invests holds a minority stake in Gama Aviation Plc and, through partnerships with Growthgate Capital and the FIM-IBC MENA Real Estate Opportunities Fund, supports the development of middle-market enterprises and real estate projects in the MENA region, while focusing on broader economic and social development.[2]
CE-Ventures
The CE-Ventures platform was established in 2017 and invests in early- to late-stage startups with focus on tech-enabled solutions in the US, MENA, India, and Southeast Asia.[16] In 2017, CE-Ventures led a $16 million Series A funding of ENDOQUEST Robotics (formerly known as ColubrisMX, Inc.) and XCath, Inc., two micro-robotic medical device companies developed at the University of Texas Medical School’s Microsurgical Robotics Laboratory, and incorporated in Texas, USA. Additionally, XCath performed the world’s first live telerobotic mechanical thrombectomy trial for stroke treatment between Abu Dhabi and Korea.[17][18] CE-Ventures also invested in NerdWallet.[19][20] CE-Ventures led the seed round in Kitopi, a cloud kitchen platform, and also participated in subsequent funding rounds.[21] Kitopi went on to become the fastest unicorn in the MENA region,[22] reaching a valuation of over $1 billion just three years after its founding.[23]
CE-Creates
CE-Creates, founded in 2014, is an incubator platform that develops new businesses internally.[24] Its first venture was Kava & Chai, a specialty coffeehouse that opened in 2017.[25]
In 2018, CE-Creates collaborated with Bee'ah, a UAE-based environmental management company, to establish ION, a transport business aimed at providing sustainable mobility services.[26]
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