Prime Highlights
- Dubai launches Founders HQ, a combined physical and digital platform connecting entrepreneurs to investors, mentors and corporate partners.
- More than 25 public and private partners have joined, supporting Dubai’s D33 agenda to create 30 unicorns by 2033.
Key Facts
- A 100-day accelerator with Plug and Play connected 23 startups with five corporate partners, producing 36 proof-of-concept opportunities and five signed agreements.
- The UAE accounted for over 51 percent of active tech startups in the MENA region in 2024, according to Seed Group.
Background
Dubai has opened a new platform aimed at giving entrepreneurs a single starting point to build and grow their businesses. Located near Dubai World Trade Centre inside the 25Hours Hotel at One Central, Dubai Founders HQ combines a physical co-working campus with a digital platform connecting founders to investors, mentors and corporate partners.
Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the initiative, developed jointly by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.
The platform aims to simplify a common challenge for entrepreneurs: finding and connecting with the right support, from funding to licensing to mentorship, without wasting time piecing it together on their own.
More than 25 public and private partners, including venture capital firms, corporates and government bodies, have joined the platform so far. It sits under Dubai’s D33 economic agenda, a ten-year plan targeting 30 unicorn startups and strong SME growth by 2033.
The platform has already run its first accelerator program with Plug and Play. Over 100 days, the cohort connected 23 startups with five corporate partners, including du Business, DHL, Talabat, Emirates Flight Catering and Visa.
The effort produced 36 proof-of-concept opportunities, with five reaching signed agreements, partnerships that would normally take a year or longer to close.
Hadi Badri, CEO of Dubai Economic Development Corporation, said the platform reflects a founder-first approach designed to help entrepreneurship scale across the city.
Seed Group data shows the UAE was home to more than 51 percent of active tech startups across the MENA region in 2024, a lead Dubai Founders HQ is built to extend.
