More than 20 startups founded by entrepreneurs from Central Asia are already operating in the UAE, making the country one of the key destinations for regional entrepreneurs looking to scale.

“Kazakhstan maintains its leadership position and remains the most active venture investment market in Central Asia, accounting for 74% of the total investment volume in the region. In 2024, Kazakhstani startups attracted $71 million, resulting in a total valuation of $710 million,” shares Ainur Zhanturina from RISE Research.

Of the total $71 million in venture deals in Kazakhstan in 2024, 53% came from foreign investors. Foreign investments came from the UAE, as well as the USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and other countries. The average deal size also increased: 40% of deals in 2024 ranged from $200,000 to $500,000, significantly higher than in 2021, when 62% of deals were less than $200,000.

“Central Asia’s startup market is gaining global attention with increasing opportunities for international investors. At MA7, we not only invest in local startups but also offer market insights and guidance to help foreign investors navigate Kazakhstan’s venture ecosystem effectively”, said Murat Abdrakhmanov, Venture Capitalist, Founder of MA7 Ventures.

Uzbekistan demonstrated the most impressive growth: investment volume increased 2.7 times to reach $17.5 million across 38 deals, while the average deal size grew fourfold to $460,000. In 2024, Uzbekistani startups attracted the majority of investments from local investors (over 52%), while the share of investments from international investors decreased by 11% compared to 2023.

Kyrgyzstan attracted $1.7 million with an annual growth rate of 19% since 2022. The country stands out for its high level of female entrepreneur involvement – nearly a third of deals are related to women-founded projects, and such startups attracted two-thirds of the total investment volume. Accelerators and hubs are the leaders in Kyrgyzstan’s venture market by number of investments made (over 50%), however, venture funds accounted for the main share of investment volume (66%), most of which are located abroad.

Tajikistan attracted $4.6 million in 2024, focusing on Islamic fintech and AI-powered credit scoring models. The development of the venture market was facilitated by tax incentives for startups in IT Park Dushanbe and the launch of a $5 million venture fund.

“The growth of venture capital in Central Asia is not just an increase in investments, but the creation of a sustainable innovation ecosystem. To unlock the region’s full potential, it is necessary to attract institutional investors and develop international partnerships,” says Erik Aubakirov, CEO of EA Group.

Among the key sectors attracting venture investments in the region in 2024, artificial intelligence, fintech, and educational and medical technologies are leading. Moreover, the influence of artificial intelligence is even higher, as many AI startups are classified by their primary industries rather than the AI sector as such.

“Central Asia strengthens ground in innovations and venture capital. BGlobal Ventures enhances quality growth of startups through funding, educational programs and development of the venture investment community, connecting key ecosystem players with regional and international partners. Our priority is to build a sustainable market that stimulates technological progress and global integration”, said Nurzhan Kadirkey, CEO, BGlobal Ventures.

With growing funding volumes and the development of investment infrastructure, Central Asia is becoming an important venture capital hub. Regional investors are increasingly shaping the startup ecosystem, strategically directing technology development. The region’s venture market is also influenced by programs created with government support. For instance, Kazakhstan has already announced a fund of funds, which could significantly change funding sources as early as 2025.

“The report confirms Central Asia’s emerging status as a tech innovation hub. At MA7, investors cast their votes with capital, shaping the future of technology while gaining access to high-potential startups through syndicate deals that enable participation in exclusive investment opportunities”, said Yelzhan Kushekbayev, Angel Investor and partner at MA7 Ventures.

However, despite the positive dynamics, there is a shortage of capital in later funding stages. This explains the growing trend of regional startups expanding to countries with more developed venture financing ecosystems.

Nevertheless, analysts predict the continued growth of the Central Asian venture market in the coming years, noting its high potential and gradual integration into the global ecosystem.

The full version of the research is available at the link.

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The decline came despite another solid quarter of VC investment in AI; the sector accounted for six of the ten largest VC deals globally, including a $1.5 billion raise by Anduril Industries and a $1 billion raise by Safe Superintelligence, according to the Q3’24 edition of KPMG Private Enterprise’s Venture Pulse—a quarterly report that shines a spotlight on VC investment trends globally and in key jurisdictions around the world.

While the Americas continued to attract the largest share of VC investment in Q3’24, total investment in the region still fell from $58.6 billion in Q2’24 to $41.4 billion in Q3’24. In Asia, VC investment fell from $18.5 billion to $15.6 billion quarter-over-quarter, while in Europe it dropped from $17.9 billion to $12.5 billion.

Global exit value fell to a six-quarter low of $39.2 billion, driven primarily by a slowdown in US-based exit activity—which fell from $25.2 billion to $11.2 billion between Q2’24 and Q3’24, as the number of exits fell to a seventeen-quarter low of 244. Asia, which saw a five-year low of $11.2 billion in exit value in Q2’24, saw exit value jump to $18.2 billion in Q3’24.

“AI investments drove the lion’s share of VC investment activity in Q3’24. But even within AI, a lot of deals were somewhat smaller than we’ve seen in recent quarters. This reflects somewhat of a trend in investors shifting their focus from core AI companies focused on LLMs (Large Language Models) and the like to companies with highly targeted industry solutions. Defense-tech was also a big winner in this quarter, in addition to biotech,” said Conor Moore, Global Head, KPMG Private Enterprise, KPMG International.

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Ejari offers a ‘Rent Now Pay Later’ solution that gives tenants the convenience of flexible payment options in Saudi Arabia’s $50bn+ rental market where over 70% of real estate rentals are paid upfront on a yearly or bi-yearly basis.

Yazeed Al-Shamsi, Co-Founder and CEO of Ejari: “I am very proud of this recognition by KPMG and want to think everyone in our team for making this dream a reality. We set out to develop this platform with the objective of democratizing access to the rental market with our solution, empowering and enabling tenants to change their rental bill from a large yearly expense into a manageable monthly one. Simultaneously, landlords still receive their full yearly payment upfront as we aim to enhance their ability to rent out their properties faster and retain their best tenants for longer, fostering in the development of a thriving Saudi rental ecosystem.

All finalists were given three minutes for a pitch, followed by a brief Q&A session, on basis of which the judges made their considerations.  The panel of esteemed judges included Amal Dokhan, Managing Partner of the 500 Global, and Omar Al-Shabaan, Co-founder and CEO of The Space, in addition to KPMG’s own Dr. Samer M. Abdallah, Head of ICT Sector, and Maz Hussain, Head of Digital Lighthouse.

The panel of judges lauded Ejari’s efforts to drive financial inclusivity and its innovative approach the FinTech startup takes in its execution, while acknowledging it was a difficult decision in a competitive field with secen other finalists, notably: Amplifaihealth, Arib, Ivvest, Kabi, Reachware, Sadeem, SuperCommerce, who were picked from over 100 eligible applicants. The competition showcased entrepreneurs across industries who innovate to become the tech leaders of tomorrow.

The winner was chosen based on six parameters: disruption and innovation, market potential, customer adoption, market traction and marketing, long-term potential, and pitch quality.

“At KPMG, we are supporting tech entrepreneurs now for several years. The Global Tech Innovator competition is becoming a wonderful community for innovators to accelerate their growth and become future industry leaders while we continue to be inspired by their innovative ideas,” said Dr. Samer Abdallah, who chaired the judge panel.

Ejari gets to represent Saudi Arabia in the global competition, pitching against the winning finalists from other countries and jurisdictions in the KPMG Global Tech Innovator finals that will take place in November during Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal.

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To help businesses overcome this barrier and tap into the potential of AI, KPMG published its gen AI playbook, AI & generative AI in functional transformation. The publication strives to serve as a guide for businesses planning to leverage gen AI to drive functional transformation and identifies potential disruption opportunities within operational functions.

Majid Makki, Partner — Head of Management Consulting and Technology Advisory, KPMG in Kuwait, said, “We understand that core organizational functions are the biggest catalysts of gen AI implementation, given the crucial roles they play. That’s why, through this guide, we wanted to call attention to the areas where gen AI could serve as a transformative force as well as highlight the challenges that could affect the foundation of trust.”

According to the KPMG 2023 global tech report, 57% of the respondents believe that gen AI will help them fulfill short-term business goals over the next three-year horizon. This is considering that embedding gen AI capabilities can significantly enhance process efficiency and speed by automating redundant tasks and those that may require human intervention. While the finding suggests a willingness to explore implementation possibilities, led by businesses’ needs to increase profitability, improve compliance and enhance consumer experience, the guidebook stresses that the effectiveness of gen AI relies on the quality of the underlying data and well-engineered prompts.

KPMG’s practical guide also points out five enabler categories that could be integrated into six key functions, i.e., Marketing, sales, service and commerce, Procurement, Supply chain management, Finance, HR, and IT management. The enablers are: (i) content and insight generators; (ii) information extractors; (iii) smart chatbots; (iv) language translators; and (v) code generators.

What kind of functional transformation can businesses drive with AI?
Illustrating the power of AI, the publication clarifies that organizations could leverage it to automate, optimize and transform procurement functions. This could, in turn, elevate sourcing efficiency and bring about dynamic contract lifecycle management, resulting in streamlined procurement decisions and enhanced contract management. As for supply chain management functions, businesses could ensure advanced predictive planning and automated quality assurance through AI-powered integrated planning and scenario modelling and AI-enhanced quality management.

KPMG’s guide further underscores that finance should be at the center of gen AI adoption across organizations, harnessing AI to make for cross-functional commentary and contract generation and review. This would not only drive improved understanding of financial performance but also reduce the levels of financial risk across an organization.

Furthermore, IT management functions could employ AI to maximize availability to users and reduce security incidents, HR functions to streamline onboarding processes and matching learning to employee requirements, and Marketing, sales, service and commerce functions to improve personalized and targeted marketing reach as well as engagement levels.

Overall, this practical guide explores 30 emerging use case opportunities that gen AI offers an organization’s front, middle and back office to enhance the human experience — either as customers, suppliers, or as employees.

“AI isn’t independent of systems. It goes hand in hand with existing business models, technology platforms, governance frameworks and service delivery models, impacts people’s roles and helps bring about positive change across critical business processes,“ adds Majid. He explains that for gen AI to provide maximum value to an organization — be it global or Kuwaiti, it should be implemented and integrated in the way that’s right and within crucial operational functions.

The guidebook underlines that while AI is moving quickly, the user interface and new content creation capabilities of gen AI make it relevant to a wide range of organizations and business functions. To keep pace with it, business leaders must consider how they can think and act faster with respect to how they can leverage the technology better.

To download the guide and to learn how KPMG Advisory can help you implement AI in your businesses, visit: kpmg.com/kw.

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KPMG is bringing together a broad collective, with Microsoft, leveraging infrastructure and gaming platform, Ericsson for their 5G technology and network; and Metakey as the technical partner to develop 3D objects. The objective of the CoE is to expedite Metaverse and Digital Twin application in Saudi Arabia and the wider region.

“We have seen an immense commitment from the government to invest in Metaverse and to explore the public utility of the technology. With the launch of the Centre of Excellence, we are proud to bring together a team of experts and organizations to really drive these initiatives forward,” commented Maz Hussain, Head of Digital Lighthouse at KPMG in Saudi Arabia.

“A digital-first principle is to be applied across all the services to be delivered from this CoE, which means that the CoE will provide an incubation function to several technology capabilities that will be required to deliver a differentiated offering to the market,” he added. “Metaverse will help make Saudi firms more competitive and open up global opportunities.”

Digital Twin is the digital counterpart of real-world physical product, system or process in, for example Metaverse, and can be used for practical purposes like simulation, monitoring or educational purposes. Part of the CoE’s objectives to help organizations build Digital Twin objects, processes, and assets.
Saudi Arabia has made an immense commitment to investing in the Metaverse and gigacities, creating vast opportunities within the government, public and private sectors across various industries.

Zainab Alamin, Vice President of Digital Transformation & Sustainability, Microsoft Arabia commented “We are proud to join this initiative and take a leading role drive innovation and bring value to Saudi Arabia and the region through the application of Metaverse technologies which supports Vision 2030 by making Saudi a digital hub and Riyadh the capital of innovation and AI”.

According to KPMG, Metaverse will position Saudi Arabia on a global stage, creating safe, secure environments to facilitate Saudi business and society within national policies with the CoE being the foundational steppingstone towards the achievement of this overall target.

As part of the CoE, KPMG has allocated a dedicated co-investment fund for Metaverse use-cases in Saudi Arabia to work together with public and private partners on expediting the technology for practical use.

“With the traction we see in the market, we are very optimistic about the future of Metaverse and Web3 technologies in the Kingdom. With our CoE, guided by an advisory board of global ecosystem partners and with a dedicated team of specialists from academia and industry, we will be very focused on use case development in Saudi Arabia,” concluded Hussain.

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Bounce is SaaS platform, which serves as a mobile-first communication and management software for preschools, nurseries, and childcare centers by connecting administration, teachers, and parents through collaborative early learning experiences. The implementation of Bounce digitalizes daily operations and manual tasks such as student enrolment, attendance, invoicing, payments while enhancing communication with parents via features such as live chat, announcements, media sharing and daily and injury reports. Bounce has a global vision of accelerating the digital transformation of the early learning sector, starting with the MENA region in the first two years of launch and followed by a global launch in English speaking markets.

Omar Al Madani, CTO-Bounce, presented the pitch for Bounce where he explained the vision of the company, the revenue model, expansion plans, and marketing initiatives they’re taking. Alongside Al Madani on-stage was Muhannad Matouk – Managing Director, Bounce, along with his team of Ahmed Kawash, Nancy El Ali, Mohammed Abdi, and Mohammed Haissam, who supported the team on-ground.

SPARTS, a cloud-based platform that brings together garage owners and insurance companies, was declared the first runner-up, while Raha, a grocery-based start-up, was adjudged both the second runner-up as well as the People’s Champion. The People’s Champion was elected after a round of public voting where the audience was asked to score their favorite participants on the basis of six parameters.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Rasheed Al-Qenae, Managing Partner, KPMG in Kuwait, said, “I would like to congratulate Bounce on their victory, and wish them the best for the Global finale in November. My heartfelt congratulations also go out to the first runner-up Sparts, and Raha for being crowned as both the second runner-up and the People’s Champion. A lot of effort has been dedicated toward making this event a reality, so I am sincerely thankful to everyone who has contributed to making the 2022 KPMG Private Enterprise Tech Innovator in Kuwait a grand success.”

In a post-event interview, Muhannad Matouk, Managing Director, Bounce said “First, we would love to thank KPMG for hosting us and the judges. We are very excited. The team worked hard, and we are happy to win this award. We believe that we have a great product, a good business plan, and a great traction. Therefore, we expected to be among the top 3 in the contest and luckily, we won the first place.”

When asked about Bounce he further adds “We are just scratching the surface. This project is only two years old, and we are now planning for expansion. We have 100+ clients and in the coming years it will further increase. Our focus is now to enhance the customer support and take the product forward from there.”

The pitch-based competition was first announced nearly two months ago with the intent to provide deserving tech start-ups and early-stage companies invaluable exposure and give them the opportunity to pitch their business ideas and ambitions before some of Kuwait’s finest industry experts — few of which were part of the panel judging the event. The panelists were Fadi Chalouhi, General Manager, Business Development at Boubyan Bank, Malek Hammoud, Chief Investment and Digital Transformation Officer of Zain Group, Ankul Aggarwal, Partner and Head of Deal Advisory, KPMG in Kuwait, Mohammed Bader Abulhasan, Vice President of Technology and Telecoms at Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), and Abdullah Hamad Al-Jouan, Managing Partner at Gusto Group Food Services.

Along with the pitches, KPMG in Kuwait also provided booth spaces for all the finalists who used the platform to network with the delegates and other finalists. The delegates, which consisted of Investors, PE Houses, delegates from Korean and German Embassy, and the big Family Businesses from Kuwait interacted with the finalists to understand their business offerings and how they can strike a mutually beneficial partnership.

Ankul Aggarwal, Partner and Head of Deal Advisory, KPMG in Kuwait, said, “I am truly amazed by how the event has turned out to be, considering this was a first for KPMG in Kuwait. I am hopeful that the platform we were able to provide through the means of this competition will create a positive impact on the growth journeys of all the participating companies, especially the winners Bounce, Sparts, and Raha who are doing their share to innovate and disrupt their sectors. Furthermore, the networking sessions gave the finalists a space to talk to the guests in a non-formal set-up allowing a free flow of thoughts and ideas. KPMG in Kuwait is committed to supporting the growth of the start-up ecosystem in the country and this event is surely the starting step towards this journey.”

Having proved its mettle as a tech innovator in the country finals, the edtech start-up Bounce will now be competing for the global title, along with other tech companies from more than 30+ countries who won their respective country finals. The overall winner will also feature in KPMG’s ‘Winners Report’ and get to network with investors, industry leaders, and even other businesses in the same field. The Global finale is slated to be held in November at Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. It is worth mentioning that Brazil’s agritech start-up Krilltech NanoAgtech was the winner of the 2021 KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator competition.

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Speaking about the competition’s Kuwait debut, Ankul Aggarwal, Partner and Head of Deal Advisory, KPMG in Kuwait said, “I am pleased to announce the launch of the first-ever KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator competition in Kuwait. The platform will aim to put tech start-ups and early-stage companies in front of investors and increase their business visibility. More importantly, it will give them an opportunity to represent Kuwait in front of a global audience, allowing them to network with people from a similar space. Over the last few years, the country has witnessed a steep rise in e-commerce companies as well as the overall IT and internet infrastructure — all of which has contributed tremendously to the growth of its tech sector. Considering how promising a lot of these companies are and how successful the competition’s previous editions have been globally, I am positive that it will play a key role in fast-tracking their progress.”

The competition’s Kuwait leg comes off the back of the 2021 edition’s grand success across the world and in the GCC region. Interested entrepreneurs and start-ups can apply on or before 25 August 2022 by visiting KPMG in Kuwait’s website (home.kpmg/kw) or via the direct link.

The applications will be reviewed by experts from KPMG in Kuwait, and shortlisted participants will have to then pitch their ideas and strategic ambitions to a panel of industry leaders from Kuwait. To be considered a tech innovator, interested companies in Kuwait must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• They must be a Kuwait-registered company, with a revenue between USD1 million and USD15 million or have a minimum raised equity of USD500,000.
• They should be in active operation for not more than five years (in their current form) and must not be owned by a large corporation.
• They will need to be a pure technology, tech-driven, tech-enabled or tech-led business and be able to conduct all of their pitches in English.
• They must be available to pitch virtually or physically at the Kuwait finals.

The winner will be crowned as the 2022 Kuwait Tech Innovator and earn a chance to present at the global finals at Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal in November 2022. There, their pitch will be evaluated with the other local winners based on six parameters, namely disruption and innovation, market potential, customer adoption, market traction and marketing, long-term potential, and pitch quality. The panel’s decision will be treated as final.

The emerging winner will be declared the 2022 Global Tech Innovator and feature in KPMG’s ‘Winners Report’. They will also get a chance to connect with investors and network with other businesses and people who are from a similar domain. In 2021, the competition saw participation from about 700 innovators and influencers, with 4 out of the 17 finalists emerging from the GCC region alone. These were Taajer — a Bahrain-based food and beverage company, SkipCash — a mobile payment app from Qatar, KLAIM — an insuretech platform from the UAE, and Natufia — a smart kitchen garden start-up from Saudi Arabia.

Brazil’s agritech start-up Krilltech NanoAgtech was selected as the winner of the 2021 KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator competition.

For more details on the competition, please visit kpmg.com/kw.

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Dr. Samer Abdallah, Head of ICT Sector, KPMG in Saudi Arabia

Dr. Samer Abdallah, Head of ICT Sector, KPMG in Saudi Arabia, said, “We are excited to see that start-ups are booming in Saudi Arabia. More and more entrepreneurs are succeeding each day, and their success inspires others. By bringing innovative technologies to light, we are supporting the growth of companies that are changing the world for better. No matter what type of technology a business is utilizing, whether they are tech-enabled, tech-led, or tech-driven, we encourage them to apply to this competition and take advantage of this incredible opportunity.”

The 2021 KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition attracted close to 700 competitors from around the world, with for the first-time applicants from Saudi Arabia. The winner of the local competition, Natufia – a smart kitchen garden concept – went on to Lisbon to compete on the global stage. The start-up, which was up against four other tech start-ups in a closely contested competition from BRAQ Aerospace, Juleb Digital Pharma Company, Mawidy and Tarjama who were shortlisted in this inaugural edition.

In 2021, Brazil’s rapidly growing AgriTech startup Krilltech NanoAgtech was crowned the KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator winner, following an intense competition with 16 other finalists including Natufia.

To be recognized as a leading tech innovator, companies from start-up to accelerated growth stages are invited to pitch their innovations and present their strategic ambitions to panels of local and global industry experts. This is their opportunity to be recognized as one of Saudi Arabia’s most innovative and successful technology entrepreneurs.

Shortlisted companies will be given exclusive networking opportunities among industry experts and tech leaders. The winner in Saudi Arabia will progress to the Global Tech Innovator final event during the Web Summit 2022 in Lisbon Portugal, where they will pitch their growth plans to an international judging panel and compete with the participants from other countries for the global recognition.

“Making connections and gaining recognition among some of Saudi Arabia’s most respected advisors, industry leaders, and other major world markets through the global exposure in the competition, is an opportunity that every tech entrepreneur would be excited about.” Dr. Abdallah added.

The 2022 KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator competition is being hosted in over 21 countries round the world.

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Fintech valuations remained very high in H1’21 as investors continued to see the space as attractive and well-performing – a likely driver in the explosion of unicorn births with 163 created in the first half of the year. Under pressure to increase the velocity of their digital transformation and to enhance their digital capabilities, corporates were particularly active in venture deals, participating in close to USD 21 billion in investment over nearly 600 deals globally, with many realizing it’s quicker to do so by partnering with, investing in, or acquiring fintechs.

Looking forward to H2’21, total fintech investment is expected to remain very robust in most regions of the world. While the payments space is expected to remain a dominant driver of fintech investment, revenue-based financing solutions, banking-as-a-service models, and B2B services are expected to attract increasing levels of investment. Given the rise in digital transactions, and the subsequent increase in cyberattacks and ransomware, cybersecurity solutions will likely also be high on the radar of investors.

The digital bank space got some attention in H1’21 with the announcement of the upcoming launch of Zand — the UAE’s first independent digital bank. International interest in the UAE continued to grow, with both Ireland-based regtech company DX Compliance39 and US based payments firm Stripe40 launching operations in the UAE during H1’21.

During H2’21, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the ADGM introduced a framework to regulate open banking platforms to enhance consumer data protection. Looking forward, investment in payments and contactless technologies is expected to remain strong in the UAE. Investor interest in Islamic finance focused startups, such as Shariah compliant fintechs, is expected to grow over the next few quarters.

Goncalo Traquina, Partner, KPMG Lower Gulf, said, “Accelerators and events are an important part of building up the fintech ecosystem in the UAE. H1’21 saw some interesting developments in this area. The Ministry of Economy and the Securities and Commodities Authority launched a Fintech Megathon to help reimagine financial services in the UAE. UAE technology ecosystem Hub 71 and US based Modus Capital also launched Ventures Lab — a program aimed at helping early stage founders build viable products.”

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Hailed as a major boost to the UAE’s vibrant startup ecosystem, Microsoft’s GrowthX Accelerator – announced in January and opened for registrations in May – is part of a larger strategic partnership between the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and Microsoft to accelerate opportunities in the emirate for startups.

“Startups catalyse innovation and pioneer technologies that have the potential to create positive and lasting societal impact,” said H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO. “Recognising the advantages offered by startups, Abu Dhabi creates a nurturing environment for these businesses as they develop their ideas, and acts as a launchpad for their growth, both locally and globally. As founding partner of GrowthX Accelerator, we are excited to work with Microsoft to bring startups and corporations together, unlocking opportunities for innovative businesses at all stages of growth.”

The GrowthX Accelerator will include virtual and physical workshops and training sessions, as well as a series of VC demo days, corporate access days, and networking events where startups can showcase their visions to venture capitalists and Microsoft’s regional customers. For the first cohort, which will be running from August to November, Microsoft will recruit 15 startups from across the region that solve the corporate challenges of its partners.

Microsoft for Startups has already announced that Etihad Airways, Unilever, Akbank, and KPMG will be participating in the first cohort as Corporate Engagement Partners, with a few more partner announcements to come. The program will recruit specialised B2B startups to work with these partners directly for the duration of the program, to ultimately co-create technology solutions that address the corporate partners’ challenges.

“GrowthX Accelerator empowers B2B startups with the technology, mentoring and market access they need to thrive in the new global digital economy,” said Roberto Croci, Managing Director, Microsoft for Startups, MEA. “Across the region, Microsoft sees customers eager for innovative solutions that will empower them to compete. Our work with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office on GrowthX Accelerator is set to transform Abu Dhabi and the region into a global hub for technology and entrepreneurship.”

To apply now or find out more about the Microsoft for Startups GrowthX Accelerator program, B2B startups in Abu Dhabi and the UAE can visit here.

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