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    GCC Startup Ecosystem Directory

    Funds, incubators, accelerators and government programs across the six Gulf countries.

    Country

    Type

    UAEGovernment Program

    Hub71

    Ecosystem enabler backing pre-seed–Series A startups across sectors, with dedicated Digital Assets, ClimateTech, Life Sciences and AI tracks.

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    UAESovereign VC

    Mubadala

    Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth arm investing from Series A through growth across global tech.

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    UAESovereign VC

    ADQ / DisruptAD

    Sovereign platform investing early to late stage in healthcare, food/agri, mobility and energy.

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    UAEGovernment Program

    Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO)

    Grants and rebates via the Innovation Programme; a connector rather than an equity investor.

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    UAEVC Fund

    Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners

    ~$1B growth-stage fund backed by Mubadala and Alpha Wave Global.

    UAEVC Fund

    BECO Capital

    Pre-seed to IPO investor in fintech, proptech, construction tech, consumer and AI/software.

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    UAEVC Fund

    Global Ventures

    Seed through growth investor in fintech, healthtech, edtech, agritech and enterprise SaaS.

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    UAEVC Fund

    Shorooq Partners

    Seed to Series A equity plus venture debt/private credit, sector-agnostic.

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    UAEVC Fund

    Wamda Capital

    Seed and Series A investor, one of MENA's oldest VC firms.

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    UAEVC Fund

    MEVP

    Early and growth-stage tech investor across the GCC and Levant.

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    UAEVC Fund

    Nuwa Capital

    Pre-seed to Series B investor in SaaS, marketplaces and fintech.

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    UAEVC Fund

    COTU Ventures

    Pre-seed to seed investor, sector-agnostic.

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    UAEVC Fund

    VentureSouq

    Early-stage investor focused on FinTech and ClimateTech.

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    UAECorporate VC

    Chalhoub Group (Greenhouse)

    Retail-tech, e-commerce and beauty/luxury venture arm of the Chalhoub Group.

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    UAECorporate VC

    e& capital

    Growth-stage tech/digital venture arm of e& (telecom).

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    UAEVC Fund

    Oraseya Capital

    AED 500M fund backing pre-seed to Series B fintech and tech startups.

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    UAEGovernment Program

    Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF)

    Early to growth co-investment fund focused on deep tech and the future economy.

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    UAEGovernment Program

    Dubai Future Foundation / DFA

    Innovation body connecting startups to government challenges.

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    UAEAccelerator

    DIFC Innovation Hub / FinTech Hive

    Region's first and largest fintech accelerator, plus a $100M growth-stage fintech fund.

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    UAEIncubator

    in5

    No-equity incubator for tech, media and design across three Dubai centres.

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    UAEIncubator

    Dtec

    Largest tech coworking and incubation campus in the Middle East.

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    UAEIncubator

    AstroLabs

    Private coworking and business-setup hub with free-zone licensing support.

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    UAEAccelerator

    Sheraa

    Government-backed Sharjah incubator/accelerator, idea to growth, sector-agnostic.

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    UAEVC Fund

    Emerge (Emerge Ventures)

    Early-stage climate tech and energy investor.

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    UAEVC Fund

    Conscious VC

    Early-stage investor with a purpose/impact orientation.

    UAEAccelerator

    Flat6Labs UAE

    Seed accelerator providing funding, mentorship and workspace.

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    UAEVC Fund

    Plus VC

    Pre-seed investor, roughly $100K initial with follow-on capacity.

    UAEVC Fund

    Further Ventures

    Early-stage co-founder studio focused on financial infrastructure and digital assets.

    UAEGovernment Program

    Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development

    Interest-free SME loans from AED 150K to 3M.

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    Saudi ArabiaSovereign VC

    Public Investment Fund (PIF)

    Sovereign wealth fund anchoring the ecosystem directly and via subsidiaries.

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    Saudi ArabiaSovereign VC

    Sanabil Investments

    PIF's venture and growth-equity arm, deploying roughly $3B annually.

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    Saudi ArabiaGovernment Program

    Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC)

    Government fund-of-funds supporting pre-seed to pre-IPO companies.

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    Saudi ArabiaGovernment Program

    Jada Fund of Funds

    PIF fund-of-funds backing VC, PE and private-debt funds.

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    Saudi ArabiaCorporate VC

    Wa'ed Ventures

    Saudi Aramco's entrepreneurship arm, all stages, tech/industrial/deep tech.

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    Saudi ArabiaVC Fund

    STV (Saudi Technology Ventures)

    Largest VC firm in the Middle East by AUM; Series A and growth, sector-agnostic.

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    Saudi ArabiaVC Fund

    Raed Ventures

    Seed and Series A investor in SaaS, fintech, consumer and real-estate tech.

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    Saudi ArabiaVC Fund

    Impact46

    Seed-to-growth investor in fintech, e-commerce, SaaS and gaming.

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    Saudi ArabiaVC Fund

    Merak Capital

    CMA-licensed seed-stage investor with deep fintech holdings.

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    Saudi ArabiaVC Fund

    Vision Ventures

    Early-stage fintech and payments investor.

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    Saudi ArabiaVC Fund

    Nama Ventures

    CMA-licensed pre-seed investor in fintech and SaaS.

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    Saudi ArabiaVC Fund

    Khwarizmi Ventures

    Seed and Series A investor in fintech and consumer.

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    Saudi ArabiaVC Fund

    Sukna Ventures

    Early and growth-stage investor.

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    Saudi ArabiaCorporate VC

    Prosperity7 Ventures

    Saudi Aramco's global deep-tech and frontier-tech growth arm.

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    Saudi ArabiaCorporate VC

    Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV)

    Corporate VC focused on energy, decarbonization and industrial tech.

    Saudi ArabiaCorporate VC

    stc Ventures

    Venture arm of Saudi Telecom (stc).

    Saudi ArabiaCorporate VC

    SABIC Ventures

    Corporate VC investing in industrials and chemicals tech.

    Saudi ArabiaGovernment Program

    Monsha'at (SME General Authority)

    Runs Startup Hubs, the University Startup Accelerator Program and the BIBAN conference.

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    Saudi ArabiaIncubator

    Badir Program (KACST)

    National tech incubation program, free for Saudi nationals.

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    Saudi ArabiaAccelerator

    The Garage

    Largest business accelerator and startup district in the region.

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    Saudi ArabiaUniversity Program

    KAUST Innovation / TAQADAM Accelerator

    Deep-tech accelerator offering non-dilutive grants up to roughly $140K.

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    Saudi ArabiaAccelerator

    Misk Accelerator

    12-week zero-equity hybrid tech accelerator.

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    Saudi ArabiaAccelerator

    Flat6Labs Riyadh

    Seed accelerator run in partnership with stc.

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    Saudi ArabiaAccelerator

    Techstars Riyadh

    12–13 week accelerator with MCIT and Raed Ventures.

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    Saudi ArabiaNon-Profit / Network

    Endeavor Saudi Arabia

    High-impact entrepreneur mentorship and scale-support network.

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    Saudi ArabiaGovernment Program

    Fintech Saudi

    SAMA-backed initiative supporting the fintech sector.

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    Saudi ArabiaAccelerator

    Sanabil 500 MENA Seed Accelerator

    Riyadh-based 12-week accelerator with $100K+ equity investment.

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    QatarGovernment Program

    Qatar Development Bank (QDB)

    Government development bank anchoring the ecosystem via incubation, VC and guarantee programs.

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    QatarIncubator

    Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP)

    Free-zone tech park offering incubation, acceleration and grant/venture funds.

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    QatarIncubator

    Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC)

    One of the region's largest mixed-use incubators.

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    QatarAccelerator

    Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH)

    Government fintech incubator/accelerator with grants up to $100K+.

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    QatarGovernment Program

    Startup Qatar

    National investment program with START (up to $1.1M) and GROW (up to $5.5M) tracks.

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    QatarIncubator

    Digital Incubation Center (DIC)

    Government incubator focused on marketing, B2B and mobile ventures.

    QatarIncubator

    Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship & Career Development

    Youth-focused career and entrepreneurship center.

    QatarCorporate VC

    Digital & Beyond (Ooredoo + QBIC)

    Corporate incubator for tech startups and market soft-landing.

    QatarAngel Network

    Doha Tech Angels

    First private angel investment fund in Qatar.

    QatarAngel Network

    Qatar Business Angel Network (QBAN)

    Angel investor network.

    QatarVC Fund

    Rasmal Ventures

    Qatar-based early-stage VC.

    KuwaitVC Fund

    Arzan Venture Capital

    First private VC in Kuwait; pre-seed to Series B in fintech, e-commerce and edtech.

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    KuwaitVC Fund

    Faith Capital

    Seed to Series B investor in e-commerce, consumer internet, SaaS and AI.

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    KuwaitAccelerator

    Sirdab Lab

    Accelerator and coworking/community hub for early-stage tech.

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    KuwaitGovernment Program

    National Fund for SME Development

    Finances up to 80% of SME capital, up to KD 500,000.

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    KuwaitVC Fund

    KISP Ventures (KFH Capital)

    Shariah-compliant VC investing seed to early stage.

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    KuwaitVC Fund

    Sharq Ventures

    Early to growth-stage investor in e-commerce, fintech and enterprise software.

    KuwaitAccelerator

    Brilliant Lab

    Tech accelerator running the "Brilliant Start" program.

    KuwaitUniversity Program

    GUST Startup Lab

    University incubator/accelerator running bootcamps year-round.

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    KuwaitCorporate VC

    NBK Capital / NBK Ventures

    Private equity and venture arm of National Bank of Kuwait.

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    KuwaitGovernment Program

    Boursa Kuwait

    National stock exchange operator running capital-markets education.

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    BahrainGovernment Program

    Bahrain Development Bank (BDB)

    100% government-owned bank anchoring the ecosystem.

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    BahrainGovernment Program

    Al Waha Fund of Funds

    $100M fund-of-funds investing in VC funds with a Bahrain presence.

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    BahrainGovernment Program

    Tamkeen

    Semi-government labour fund providing grants and SME financing.

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    BahrainIncubator

    Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB)

    Public-private fintech hub running incubation and innovation labs.

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    BahrainAccelerator

    Brinc Bahrain (Brinc MENA)

    Global accelerator/VC for hardware/IoT, foodtech, fintech and climatetech.

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    BahrainAccelerator

    Flat6Labs Bahrain

    4-month seed accelerator with funding, mentorship and registration support.

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    BahrainAccelerator

    C5 Accelerate

    Ran the first cloud accelerator in the Middle East and Africa.

    BahrainVC Fund

    Hope Ventures

    Government-linked early-stage VC listed on the Bahrain Investment Market.

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    BahrainGovernment Program

    StartUp Bahrain

    National ecosystem community platform powered by Tamkeen.

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    BahrainGovernment Program

    Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)

    Investment-promotion agency supporting startups.

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    BahrainIncubator

    CH9 (Corporate Hub 9)

    Private sector-agnostic accelerator and coworking space.

    BahrainCorporate VC

    BENEFIT

    National payments/fintech company running innovation programs.

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    BahrainGovernment Program

    SME Fund (BDB-led)

    $185M national SME financing fund.

    OmanGovernment Program

    ITHCA Group

    OIA's ICT investment arm managing the Oman Technology Fund portfolio.

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    OmanGovernment Program

    Oman Technology Fund (OTF)

    Sovereign-backed fund-of-micro-funds, up to $150M committed.

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    OmanGovernment Program

    Jasoor Fund

    $180M fund (ADQ + OIA/ITHCA) for fintech, edtech, healthtech and cleantech.

    OmanVC Fund

    Phaze Ventures

    First private VC in Oman; early-stage energy, logistics and deep tech.

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    OmanGovernment Program

    Sharakah

    SME development company offering financial and advisory support.

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    OmanGovernment Program

    SAS Program (MTCIT)

    Government ICT business incubation, pre-seed and early stage.

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    OmanGovernment Program

    Authority for SME Development (Riyada)

    Government SME authority running SANAD financing and incubation.

    OmanIncubator

    Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM)

    Government tech park with 200+ resident companies.

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    OmanIncubator

    National Business Centre (NBC)

    No-equity government incubator, including the Najihat women's program.

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    OmanGovernment Program

    Al Raffd Fund

    Interest-free SME loans, with capital of RO 70M.

    OmanNon-Profit / Network

    Injaz Oman

    Youth entrepreneurship education non-profit.

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    RegionalVC Fund

    500 Global (MENA)

    Global VC and accelerator platform; 250+ MENA investments since 2012.

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    RegionalAccelerator

    Plug and Play MENA

    Global accelerator/VC platform running UAE fintech accelerators.

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    RegionalAccelerator

    Techstars MENA

    Global accelerator active in the region via Techstars Riyadh.

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