// CASE STUDY //

THE MIDDLE EAST IS INCREASINGLY A PLACE TO BUILD, RAISE AND SCALE FROM DAY ONE. THAT IS WHY THE GLOBAL TECH COMMUNITY GATHERS IN DUBAI EVERY YEAR. IT IS WHERE AMBITION MEETS OPPORTUNITY.

and governments adopting it are on the show floor. With Expand North Star next door, an AI start-up can show its solution to the organisations that will use it at scale and to the investors who will fund its growth. That is how AI moves from a demo to real-world impact.

Which feature of Expand North Star are you most excited about this year?

Seeing these two communities back together. Having the startup community and the world’ s largest tech show under one roof at Expo City Dubai is something I’ m really looking forward to. It will create connections across the ecosystem that simply weren’ t possible when the events were held at separate venues.

I’ m also excited about the Investor Programme, the largest gathering of venture capital in the Global South. Meetings between start-ups and investors are curated and arranged in advance, with 5,340 taking place last year, so founders spend their time in conversations that can lead to investment rather than waiting for chance encounters.

How important is the Middle East region for start-ups?

If you’ re building a start-up today, you can’ t afford to ignore this region. It combines strong government commitment to innovation, significant sovereign and private capital and a young, digitally fluent population. Governments here are not only regulators; they are often early adopters and partners for new technology.

Dubai and the UAE have become a natural bridge between East and West, and a launchpad into the fast-growing markets of Africa and South Asia. For founders anywhere in the world, the Middle East is increasingly a place to build, raise and scale from day one. That is why the global tech community gathers in Dubai every year. It is where ambition meets opportunity. �

16 Intelligent SME. tech