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Fresh startup news from across the MENA region
Egypt offers 99 investment opportunities to local firms, receives 204 foreign applications
Egypt's Housing Ministry and the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) listed 99 domestic investment opportunities and received about 204 foreign applications in August 2026, while upgrading NUCA's digital investment platform to streamline investments in new cities.
How Dubai Drove Labarna AI and Built the Technology the World Now Demands
Labarna AI, the agentic infrastructure division of TFSF Ventures FZ-LLC based in Ras Al Khaimah, built autonomous multi-agent systems for construction and other industries driven by Dubai's demanding environment and is now deployed across the UAE, the US and the GCC.
How Dubai Drove Labarna AI and Built the Technology the World Now Demands
Labarna AI, the autonomous agent infrastructure arm of TFSF Ventures FZ-LLC based in Ras Al Khaimah, built its Ghost Architecture to meet Dubai's stringent construction demands and is now deploying the stack across the UAE, the US and other markets. The firm emphasizes client-owned, sovereign technology and says customers across 21 verticals are evaluating or adopting its systems.
Middle East leads global AI adoption as organisations turn investment into productivity gains, Autodesk Research reveals
Autodesk's 2026 State of Design & Make: AI Pulse report finds Middle East organisations are converting AI investment into measurable productivity and innovation gains, with 92% reporting productivity improvements and 87% feeling urgency to adopt AI.
Gulf startups are staying private for longer
Gulf startups are staying private longer as volatile public markets, geopolitical uncertainty and concentrated AI-driven investment in the US narrow exit opportunities; PitchBook data shows low VC exit value per capita in the Gulf compared with Singapore and the US.
Business Funding In Dubai 2026: AED 50K To 1M
Overview of business funding routes in Dubai for 2026, covering options from AED 50,000 to AED 1 million including P2P, invoice finance, equity crowdfunding, conventional bank loans and government-backed guarantees.
Biotechnology and AI Reshape Medicine Development Across the UAE and Beyond — Arabian Post How Biotech and AI Reshape Medicine Development
The UAE is investing heavily in biotechnology and AI to accelerate drug discovery, genomic medicine and health‑tech research, leveraging national programmes, public‑private partnerships and international collaborations. Computational tools (ML, generative AI, protein prediction) are being integrated with wet‑lab science to shorten timelines and target therapies, while regulators emphasise ethics, transparency and human oversight.
Atuge - AI Startup Awards : À la découverte des pépites de l’Intelligence artificielle
At the Tunisia Global Forum, the AI Startup Awards recognized five Tunisian AI-driven startups across cybersecurity, health and DeepTech, spotlighting early-stage companies seeking international growth and funding. Winners include Preemptics, Pharmalink, Robocare, Deepsafe and ContractzLab.
La souveraineté technologique, un slogan sans mathématiciens
An IACE report warns of a dramatic decline in mathematics education in Tunisia, threatening the country's future capacity in AI, cybersecurity, finance quantitative and other math-dependent technologies. The study calls for restoring teacher recruitment, rebalancing territorial education offerings and incentives to retain mathematical talent.
'Dubai never lets you fail': Moroccan entrepreneur on starting over
Moroccan entrepreneur Wissam Jamal Eddine pivoted from a failed fashion label, Zeyna, to launch SpeakRise, a Dubai-based language and life-coaching programme focused on English, French and Arabic and building confidence.
Dubai-it: 'Bring your ideas and build' – why this 26-year-old founder chose Dubai
Swiss entrepreneur Joanna Rubin moved to Dubai and within eight months launched two AI-focused ventures (an AI recruitment platform and an affiliate programme) while expanding an existing Zürich-based marketing and sales platform. She credits Dubai’s speed, openness and networking environment for accelerating her ability to turn ideas into businesses.
Lebanon and World Bank sign $150m loan deal to support digital transformation
Lebanon signed a $150 million World Bank loan to fund the Digital Acceleration Project, aiming to move government services online and strengthen data hosting and cybersecurity. The deal was signed in Beirut and will be led on the government side by newly appointed tech minister Kamal Shehadi alongside finance minister Yassine Jaber.
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