Startups

Following a funding round valued at approximately US$178 million, COFE Tech Founder and CEO Ali Al-Ebrahim joins Entrepreneur Middle East at LEAP 2026 to discuss enterprise AI, B2B growth and why he believes Riyadh is becoming the region’s ultimate startup gateway.

At LEAP 2026 in Riyadh, Amal Dokhan, Managing Partner at 500 MENA at 500 Global, takes on Entrepreneur Middle East’s ETV Q Cards and reveals the one quality she believes matters more than talent for long-term success.

Participants will receive access to Kitopi's kitchens, customer base and delivery network, as well as mentorship, content production and marketing support.

Scaling a startup is not defined by a single milestone, but by the ecosystem that enables founders to keep growing.

The inaugural edition will be held under the theme "Finance Reimagined: Where Innovation Meets Policy and Purpose."

"Social media initially gave entrepreneurs unprecedented control over distribution. Now AI is introducing another layer: reputation is becoming summarizable. That distinction matters.”

"We build businesses for the long term, so you should know that something will be coming all the time. Don’t be a child. Do you have enough capital, no debt, and good people? Are you honest with your customers and society? You have to do this every second of your life - not in your business quarters, but all the time.”

After his own health struggles exposed the fragmentation of healthcare, the serial entrepreneur set out to build an AI-powered platform that brings health guidance, monitoring, and professional support into one ecosystem.

The launch adds a new dimension to stc group’s venture ecosystem.

While the Forum had close to 300 attendees, the Awards had 200 guests.

Organized by Dubai Future Foundation, it will take place across Emirates Towers and the Museum of the Future under the theme “For the Human of the Future.”

The group is also highlighting its global network capabilities across subsea, terrestrial and satellite infrastructure.

Over the next three to five years, Enhance aims to become the standard operating platform for the US$42 billion global personal training market.

With US$20+ billion in securities under management across 650+ companies and over 80,000 stakeholders in 16 countries, EquityList is building an operating system for equity ownership.

Three startups. Three industries. One ecosystem. The journeys of Archireef, Vivan Therapeutics, and Inovat reveal how Abu Dhabi is attracting companies that require more than funding to move from ambition to execution.

Oraseya Capital, its investment arm, invested in 15 startups, a 25% increase in new investments from last year.

Since its formation a few weeks ago, the Council has brought several initiatives to life, including a Youth Day activation at Amazon's Dubai office that connected Emirati entrepreneurs and homegrown brands directly with employees.

The UAE has introduced a new commercial music licensing framework, while extending Small Business Relief for eligible SMEs.

The announcement comes as ruya and Magure confirm that their first three agentic AI use cases have already gone live in production.

The collaboration will also enable the bank to explore partnerships with DFDF portfolio companies through structured pilots and potential commercial deployments.

The new founder finance solution provides eligible businesses with more than AED10,000 in first-year value.