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- Founders successfully completed a 12-week hybrid accelerator programme, with exclusive access to mentorship, masterclasses and investor ecosystem.
- Participants will compete for an AED 850,000 prize pool and pilot funding within Dubai Holding’s global ecosystem.
Dubai, UAE: Dubai Holding, a diversified global investment company with investments in more than 30 countries, announced the 15 bold scale-ups selected for its global impact accelerator, Innovate For Tomorrow. The flagship programme, delivered in partnership with TECOM Group PJSC’s start-up and entrepreneurship incubator, in5, invited innovators from around the world to reimagine how we consume, produce and regenerate resources to drive the transition to a more circular, sustainable future.
The accelerator, now in its second edition, champions circular economy innovation across Dubai Holding’s key business areas, with a focus on three sub-themes: food loss and waste, resource recovery and regeneration and digital innovation for sustainability.
The scale-ups underwent a rigorous selection process by Dubai Holding and industry experts, who evaluated more than 1,400 submissions from 93 countries. Entrepreneurs compete for a total prize pool of AED 850,000, with the winning scale-up securing pilot funding and a transformative proof-of-concept opportunity within Dubai Holding’s diversified portfolio to bring their idea to life.
The 2025 scale-ups selected for this transformative opportunity include:
- Cycled Technologies (Norway) by Ayoola Brimmo
- Without (India) by Anish Kishore Malpani
- SOUJI (Spain) by Sergio Fernández
- PeelPack (Switzerland) by Slava Drigloff and Massimo Bagnani
- Enlog (India) by Jharna Saha, Bharat Kunar and Ayush Gupta
- Rumett (Denmark) by Diana Saleh
- CO2Wall (Netherlands) by Gerrit Pul
- Nadeera Technologies (UAE) by Michel Mokbel and Mohamad Rabih El Chaar
- BIRD Collaborative (UAE) by Nabil Mhanna, Maitha Almatrooshi and Racha Mhanna Sarieddine
- Mruna (UAE) by Ziad Hussami
- Seramic Materials (UAE) by Dr. Khalid Al Ali and Dr. Nicolas Calver
- Revent (UAE) by Dhananjay Choubey and Baldeep Singh
- HyveGeo (UAE) by Abdulaziz Bin Redha
- Ottan (UK) by Ayşe Yılmaz
- Cauli (UK) by Mingqiao Zhao and Josephine Liang
The 15 scale-ups have successfully completed a 12-week hybrid accelerator programme, held from January to April 2026, gaining access to dedicated mentorship from industry leaders, including representatives from Dubai Holding. They also received exclusive masterclasses and workshops to sharpen their business models and accelerate market entry as well as access to investor networks.
Applicants were evaluated based on stringent criteria, including problem relevance, impact potential, innovation and differentiation, customer and market validation, scalability and market fit across the UAE. This framework enabled Dubai Holding to identify market-ready scale-ups primed for growth.
The accelerator is powered by in5’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and designed with execution partner BOLT. It reflects Dubai Holding’s philanthropic mission to empower communities and enterprises to drive sustainable development, alongside its commitment to advancing the UAE Circular Economy Policy 2031, the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative and the UAE Centennial 2071 vision.
Dubai Holding’s Innovate For Tomorrow Impact Accelerator will culminate in a high-profile Demo Day in June 2026, where the top five scale-ups will pitch to investors, partners and industry leaders.
*Note to editor: For details about individual scale-ups, please refer to the attached fact sheet.
For further information, please contact:
Malaika Fernandes
Senior Manager – Sustainability Communications
Dubai Holding
Malaika.Fernandes@dubaiholding.com
ABOUT DUBAI HOLDING
Dubai Holding is a diversified global investment company with investments in more than 30 countries and a combined workforce of more than 45,000 people. Established in 2004, Dubai Holding touches the lives of millions of Dubai residents and visitors through its extensive portfolio of over AED 280 billion worth of assets that support the diversification and sustainable growth of Dubai’s economy across 10 key sectors: real estate, hospitality, leisure & entertainment, media, ICT, design, education, retail, manufacturing & logistics and science.
Our portfolio includes:
- Dubai Holding Real Estate, one of the largest integrated master developers in Dubai, combining the long-standing expertise of Meraas, Nakheel, Meydan and Dubai Properties. Its portfolio offers innovative residential real estate solutions across property development, project management, facilities and district management;
- Dubai Holding Asset Management, which offers a world-class portfolio of over 20 residential communities, 15 lifestyle destinations, 10 malls and 18 retail centres in addition to being the majority strategic shareholder in TECOM Group PJSC, which consists of 10 business destinations catering to six vital knowledge-based economic sectors;
- Dubai Holding Hospitality, which owns and manages 53 hotels as well as top-notch hospitality brands, including Dubai Holding’s flagship hospitality brand and global luxury hotel company Jumeirah, which manages a portfolio of 31 world-class properties. Dubai Holding Hospitality’s portfolio also comprises a diverse collection of unique award-winning F&B concepts.
- Dubai Holding Entertainment, the largest and most diversified media, leisure and entertainment company in the region, which comprises leading parks and attractions such as Global Village, Ain Dubai, Dubai Parks and Resorts and The View Palm Jumeirah; and media and entertainment venues such as Roxy Cinemas, Coca-Cola Arena and ARN;
- Dubai Holding Investments, a dedicated investment arm responsible for the Group’s investment strategy and managing a diverse portfolio of strategic and financial investments across public and private markets in the UAE and internationally to drive diversification for the Group and seek attractive risk-adjusted returns. It has investments in Emirates NBD, Warsan Waste Management Centre, Du, Azadea and Nord Anglia, as well as joint ventures and partnerships with Brookfield, Emaar, Aldar, Tabreed and others;
- Dubai Holding Land Estates, which is dedicated to optimising and future-proofing the management of the Group’s extensive land bank and supporting its commitment to sustainable urban development and economic diversification in alignment with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan; and
- Dubai Holding Community Management, an integrated, customer-centric company that focuses on creating and managing sustainable and vibrant communities. It is committed to fostering a sense of belonging and connectivity amongst its 1.2 million residents living in 58 master communities.
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