"We're talking about the opportunity for the MENA region to acquire and develop intellectual property from around the globe right here. The idea is to actually bring industry here instead of just importing things," Torina said.

The organization's mission is to support the entire commercialization process from the lab to the marketplace while creating equitable returns for its stakeholders. The University Funds is targeting its commercialization efforts within the life sciences, plant and animal sciences and green technology sectors.

"In the next five years the United States will do a trillion dollars worth of research and development. Unfortunately very little of that will be commercialized. There is a gap between the researchers and in finding people who can put the business skills behind an invention. We plan to fill that gap by taking the best and brightest ideas that can have global impact and picking those up out of the institutions and carrying them forward to the marketplace."

In MENA, The University Funds will be operating with local partners and local staff. The organization is forming teams in the US, China and UK as well. The regional teams will function in a global fashion - acquiring technologies, creating companies and then collaborating on how best to move their associated technologies and products around the globe.

When asked why The University Funds would be setting up in Saudi Arabia, Torina explained that there were some "great advantages" to having operations in the Kingdom. "By airplane you're within six hours of eighty percent of the world's population. Then there's the port structure and there's plenty of available land. You have great capital access here. There is a desire to transition out of being a petroleum-based economy into being a knowledge-based economy. Plus, the tax structure is really beneficial to companies."

The University Funds has already recruited Saudi higher education institutions as partners. IP Access Agreements have been negotiated with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and King Saud University. It is hoped that King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals will also be a partner soon. In May, The University Fund will be offering free of charge education sessions at Saudi universities about IP commercialization.

"We are not about coming to the region to export dollars," Torina said. "We're actually trying to create industry here on the ground. We're in the process of closing our first fund in June. Then starting in the fourth quarter of this year we're actually going to create a fund specifically to focus on MENA and on creating those businesses here in the region. Starting in 2011, our plan is for the first industries to begin to take shape here."