Dara Holdings has stepped up its investments in female-led startups across the UAE, with a particular focus on addressing the gender financing gap in the region’s business ecosystem. By backing women entrepreneurs, this marks a shift in a traditionally male-dominated funding landscape.

Dubai-based aPurple, a global startup app development company, has announced the opening of its new regional office in Bur Dubai. The office will serve as a hub to support entrepreneurs and small businesses across the GCC with tailored digital solutions.

The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has launched the National Founders Program in partnership with global early-stage investor Antler and startup ecosystem Hub71. The six-week initiative aims to transform cutting-edge university research into commercially viable startups.

Electrogenos has been named the UAE’s top technology innovator in the 2025 edition of KPMG’s Global Tech Innovator Competition. The event brought together some of the country’s most promising scale-ups, with eight finalists showcasing solutions designed to reshape industries and drive the regional digital economy.

More than 2,875 Emirati women obtained new business licences in Abu Dhabi during the first half of 2025, underscoring their growing role in the national economy and the emirate’s efforts to foster female entrepreneurship.

Dubai-based fintech Bluerails has launched an on-chain treasury platform at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to help businesses, family offices and HNWIs earn returns on unused funds while enabling instant global payments.

Expand North Star will celebrate its 10th edition from 12 - 15 October 2025 at Dubai Harbour. Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre and hosted by the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, it is the world’s largest gathering for startups and investors.

Presight has kicked off its first AI-Startup Accelerator Bootcamp in Abu Dhabi, uniting 10 startups from around the world for a three-day intensive programme.

The Entrepreneurship World Cup 2025 has kicked off, attracting more than 10,000 projects from entrepreneurs in 169 countries. The competition spans 16 sectors including healthcare, education, ICT, agriculture and manufacturing.