Dubai's new startup campus wants to be the front door for founders

Walk into a stylish hotel near to Dubai World Trade Centre and you’ll find a buzz that doesn’t quite fit the typical hotel lobby mould. Alongside tourists snapping selfies and colleagues connecting over coffee inside the 25Hours Hotel at One Central, there’s a flourishing startup scene – and it’s open to founders worldwide.

Co-working desks are occupied by entrepreneurs from across the globe; meeting rooms bring startups face-to-face with investors, corporates and business leaders; and a revolving calendar of workshops, mentorship sessions, courses and events helps founders sharpen their ideas and scale their ambitions. This is Dubai Founders HQ- Dubai’s flagship startup platform: part startup campus, part digital platform, and part integrated ecosystem, bringing together the people, programmes and partners founders need to build and scale companies in Dubai. From access to capital, customers and corporate networks to practical learning, mentorship, founder community and ecosystem intelligence, its ambition is straightforward: to become the first place entrepreneurs go to build and scale a business.

The initiative, launched by Dubai's Crown Prince H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and developed jointly by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism and Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, is designed to solve a problem that every entrepreneur in a new market knows well.

While support often exists – the investors, the accelerators, the licensing pathways, the mentorship – finding it isn’t always easy. Navigating and connecting the dots between the pieces takes time that most founders do not have. Think of it like arriving in a new city without a map: the streets, the shortcuts and the right doors are all there, but someone still needs to hand you the directions. Dubai Founders HQ is built to be that guide.

The platform describes itself as "phygital" – a blend of physical and digital infrastructure working together rather than separately. On the ground, the platform creates opportunities for founders to connect directly with investors, corporate leaders and wider ecosystem partners. Its digital layer runs alongside: a curated learning library, an ecosystem directory and business set-up tools that walk founders through the set up and build process step by step.

The platform also connects founders with a network of trusted ecosystem partners, specialist programmes and sector-focused hubs across Dubai, ensuring founders can access the right support at every stage of growth. More than 25 public and private sector partners spanning venture capital firms, corporates, government entities, and ecosystem partners have already joined.

For residents of Dubai, the stakes go beyond whether a founder can get a licence quickly. A growing startup ecosystem creates jobs, attracts international talent and generates economic activity that filters through the broader city. New businesses need banking and payments services, accountants, logistics providers, office space and technology services. The more startups that launch and survive, the wider the ripple effect.

Dubai's D33 economic agenda – a ten-year framework under which Dubai Founders HQ sits – targets the creation of 30 unicorns (startups valued at over $1 billion) and significant SME growth by 2033. Those goals, if met, would reshape the employment landscape for tens of thousands of people across the city.

Dubai Founders HQ has launched a suite of programmes designed to support entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey. Delivered with leading global players including Antler, Endeavor, and Plug and Play, these programmes give founders access to structured support, mentorship, capital pathways and direct connections into corporate and investor networks, with more programmes set to be launched.

H.E Hadi Badri, CEO, Dubai Economic Development Corporation says, “Dubai Founders HQ reflects our commitment to building a founder-first ecosystem – one designed not only to support individual businesses, but to strengthen the conditions that allow entrepreneurship to thrive at scale. As Dubai continues to advance its economic agenda, initiatives like this play an important role in turning ambition into enterprise, and enterprise into long-term, sustainable growth. Looking forward, our focus is on continuing to grow the platform with the right founders, investors and corporate partners, to ensure it remains responsive to the needs of entrepreneurs across sectors and at every stage of their journey.”

The first wave of accelerator programming, delivered in partnership with global innovation firm Plug and Play, offers an early indication of what this model can achieve in practice. Over 100 days, the cohort brought together 23 startups and five corporate partners - including du Business, DHL, Talabat, Emirates Flight Catering and Visa- generating 36 proof-of-concept opportunities. During the programme, 15 opportunities entered advanced contracting or due diligence, while four reached signed agreements before its conclusion, with five signed agreements now completed in total. Partnerships that would typically take 12 months or more to develop were compressed into three months.

Through the partnership with Antler, founders have access to its globally recognised Residency programme, giving pre-seed startups access to structured support, founder matching and potential funding pathways. The Entrepreneur Academy was also recently launched, to help those curious about entrepreneurship get a head start.

Saeed Al Gergawi, Vice President of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, says the model embodies Dubai’s approach to harnessing the power of public-private partnerships to drive rapid progress.

“Founders require more than just funding. They need access, speed and the right people around the table,” says Al Gergawi. “Dubai Founders HQ was created to remove the friction from that journey. By bringing startups, corporates, investors and government partners into one connected platform, we are helping founders move faster from idea to market, and from market entry to real commercial growth.”

The wider context is equally significant. In 2024, the UAE accounted for more than 51% of all active tech startups in the MENA region, up from 43% the year before, according to an analysis by Seed Group. Dubai Founders HQ is designed to consolidate that position.

What distinguishes the approach from comparable initiatives in London or Singapore is its hands-on approach to public-sector engagement. Rather than supporting founders from a distance, the platform connects startups directly with government entities, investors, corporates, and other key decision-makers, allowing partnerships to develop in real time.

For international founders weighing up where to base their next venture, that proximity to decision-makers may be the differentiator that matters most.