Dubai Chamber for Digital Economy supports the establishment and growth of 1,690 startup companies during 2025

Dubai, January 22 / WAM / The Dubai Chamber for Digital Economy, one of the three chambers operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers, announced its support and contribution to establishing and expanding the businesses of 1,690 emerging digital companies during the year 2025, with an annual growth of 39.7%, which embodies the Chamber’s role in supporting Dubai’s position as a preferred global destination for the growth of digital companies and entrepreneurial projects.

Artificial intelligence accounted for about 15% of the specializations of the companies supported by the Chamber, and the share of financial technology (fintech) reached 12%, while the total share of companies specializing in mobility technology, companies providing software as a service, and companies operating in the e-commerce sector combined reached 20%.

International companies represented 75% of the total companies supported by the Chamber during the past year.

Last October, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, launched the “Dubai Entrepreneurs Headquarters”, the leading platform that aims to unify and strengthen the ecosystem of emerging, small and medium-sized companies in the emirate.

The launch of the headquarters comes as a joint initiative between the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai and the Dubai Chamber for Digital Economy, to serve as an integrated platform to support innovation and enhance the growth of entrepreneurs in Dubai.

His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, the Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dubai Chamber for the Digital Economy, said that in implementation of the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, “may God protect him”, to consolidate Dubai’s position as a global capital of the digital economy, the Chamber is committed to strengthening its efforts aimed at accelerating the transformation towards an integrated digital economic model, based on advanced infrastructure, flexible legislation, and a business environment that stimulates innovation, in parallel with empowering companies. Digital growth and expansion from Dubai, through the development of a digital system that keeps pace with global changes and supports entrepreneurship, which contributes to enhancing Dubai’s competitiveness and attracting investments and talents in various sectors of the future.

Through the “Business in Dubai Support and Attraction” platform, through which the Dubai Chamber for the Digital Economy provides a package of institutional services in cooperation with a group of partners in addition to the business matchmaking service, in order to help companies seeking to launch or expand the scope of their activities in the emirate to find partners, investors and clients appropriate to their requirements, 48% of the total companies supported by the Chamber in 2025 benefited from business establishment services in addition to opportunities to participate in business accelerators and incubators in Dubai, and 31% of the companies that The Chamber supported her from a variety of business support services provided by the platform.

During the month of April 2025, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum honored the winners of the “Apply in Dubai Challenge” awards organized by the Dubai Chamber for the Digital Economy, within the framework of the “Apply in Dubai” initiative launched by His Highness in March 2023, to consolidate Dubai’s global position in the digital technology and smart applications sector.

During November last year, the Dubai Chamber for Digital Economy launched the third edition of the “Apply in Dubai” Challenge, which witnessed a wide turnout from innovators and digital entrepreneurs. The challenge attracted more than 5,800 registration requests during its first and second cycles, contributing effectively to supporting the development and launch of more than 55 smart applications in the markets, which reflects its pivotal role in empowering technical talent, providing an incubating platform for innovative ideas, and strengthening the digital economy system.

The third edition of the competition includes a new qualitative addition represented by the “Participant Support Programme” dedicated to the distinguished teams with high potential that participated in the challenge. The program aims to enable teams to complete the development of their projects by joining the business accelerator program, and to support the launch of 50 additional fully developed applications to the market. The third edition also features a special headquarters and a destination for participants in the challenge for training, guidance, and learning about best practices to accelerate the growth of their ideas and projects.

The competition offers financing packages worth more than 2.5 million dirhams to support the development of the winning applications and support their launch in the market.

October 2025 witnessed the organization of the tenth session of the “Expand North Star 2025” exhibition, organized by the Dubai World Trade Center and hosted by the Dubai Chamber for the Digital Economy. The record success achieved by the exhibition reflects the pivotal role that Dubai plays in shaping the future of digital entrepreneurship and embodies its prestigious position as a global center for developing modern technologies and a platform for promising investment partnerships in the sectors of the digital economy.

The tenth edition of the exhibition attracted the participation of more than 2,000 startup companies and more than 1,200 investors managing assets worth more than $1.1 trillion, and 40 “unicorn” companies with a total value reaching $900 billion participated in the event.

During the past year, the Chamber organized 36 events to strengthen partnerships and support the digital economy sectors, in addition to 17 introductory tours in global markets to review the components of the digital economy in Dubai and discuss opportunities for cooperation and partnerships with all parties concerned with the digital economy sectors to attract digital companies to the emirate, in addition to introducing the importance and opportunities of the Expand North Star exhibition as the largest event in the world for emerging companies and investors.

The tours included Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Portugal, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam, and the Republic of Korea, during which the Chamber met with representatives of more than 2,500 emerging digital companies, business ecosystem partners, incubators, and other government and private entities.

During the past year, the Dubai Chamber for Digital Economy launched 8 reports, including the Artificial Intelligence Guide for Entrepreneurs, which aims to educate entrepreneurs about the artificial intelligence tools and mechanisms they need to launch and expand their projects efficiently and effectively, in addition to a report on foreign direct investment destinations in the technology sectors.

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