• Three Emirati women founders awarded a 12-month residency in Curate, Abu Dhabi’s new innovative phygital concept store.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Reem Mall, Agility, startAD and Curate today announced the launch of “The Emirati Concept at Curate,” a new community partnership designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential, Emirati women-owned SMEs.

Launched ahead of Eid Al Etihad, the initiative provides competitively selected founders with a complimentary, year-long retail presence inside Curate at Reem Mall—one of the region’s largest shopping destinations—along with mentorship, digital integration, and logistics support.

Curate is Abu Dhabi first phygital retail platform, offering a 1,200 sqm experiential retail space combined with a digital marketplace serving customers across the UAE. The three Emirati brands will join a carefully curated selection of exclusive beauty, fashion, and home concepts from the US, Asia, and Europe. The Emirati brands will benefit from an established ecosystem that provides storage, staffing, logistical and dropship capabilities, enabling the entrepreneurs to establish a physical and digital retail presence in the UAE market with ease.

Developed jointly by startAD, Reem Mall, and Agility Global, the program supports the UAE’s We the UAE 2031 vision by giving Emirati entrepreneurs access to the tools, networks, and market exposure needed to build scalable, modern retail businesses. Participants were selected from startAD’s accelerator programs and the Abu Dhabi Chamber Businesswomen Council.

Meet the Winners

Selected for readiness, scalability, and distinctive product offerings, the three entrepreneurs will receive a fully supported 12-month residency at Curate:

  • Maysoon Al Shamsi – RAWA

A wellness brand transforming upcycled date seed oil into candles, soaps, balms, and natural oils that celebrate UAE heritage and sustainable craftsmanship.

  •  Muna Alhammadi – Mineral Energy Natural Products

A natural skincare and wellness brand producing handcrafted, organic formulations recognized by regional certifications and awards for advancing holistic wellbeing.

  • Nooran Albannay – Section Coffee Roasters

A women-empowered, ethically sourced coffee and Gahwa concept delivering premium on-the-go coffee solutions, expanding on the success of the founder’s Coffee Architecture brand.

Quotes from Partners

Reem Mall

A USD 1.3 billion development and home to Snow Abu Dhabi, Reem Mall is one of the region’s largest retail destinations, spanning 186,000 sqm of retail, dining, and entertainment.

“Reem Mall is committed to nurturing local talent and creating a platform where Emirati businesses can scale,” said Bruce von Kaufmann, Mall Director. “Giving emerging founders access to one of the UAE’s biggest retail destinations strengthens our ecosystem and ensures Emirati creativity is represented at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s retail landscape.”

Curate

“Curate was built to redefine modern retail by combining physical experience with digital reach,” said Sayra Berirmen, Digital Innovation Director, Reem Mall and Curate. “By welcoming these entrepreneurs into our space, we’re not just offering visibility—we’re giving them the infrastructure, analytics, and customer access that help SMEs grow faster and smarter.”

startAD

Nihal Shaikh, the Associate Director of startAD commented, “Founders are not short on ideas; they are short on viable pathways to test those ideas in the market. At startAD, we endeavor to build practical mechanisms that move founders from capability to commercial traction within Abu Dhabi’s economy. This partnership between startAD, Agility, Curate and Reem Mall offers Emirati women entrepreneurs a fully equipped physical and digital presence, removing the operational barriers that typically slow early-stage growth. The selected entrepreneurs represent Emirati ingenuity and sustainability. As the inaugural cohort, the next 12 months offer a direct route from validation to real customers in a high-traffic destination.

     Agility Global

Agility Global is a multi-business operator and long-term investor, and the lead investor in Reem Mall.

“The Emirati Concept at Curate” underscores the critical role of women-led SMEs in the UAE’s economic transformation.” said Tarek Sultan, Chairman, Agility Global. “Through this initiative, we’re giving Emirati founders both a first retail footprint and hands-on operational support. It’s a practical investment in talent, innovation, and long-term value creation across the UAE.”

The three founders begin onboarding immediately, with products available for purchase at Curate, Level 1, Reem Mall, beginning December 2025.

About Reem Mall

Reem Mall, the home of Snow Abu Dhabi – the region’s largest snow park, is a USD $1.3 billion development that is fast becoming the ultimate destination for shopping, dining, lifestyle and entertainment in Abu Dhabi. The mall spans an area of 186,000 sqm GLA, making it one of the largest malls in the region. With more than 400 stores, including 80 F&B concepts and 6,400 parking spaces, the destination caters to visitors from all over the UAE and beyond.

Featuring unique retail concepts, such as the world’s first and only Bloomingdale’s Beauty, the UAE’s only Fratelli Damianti Parfum, the first Eataly in the UAE capital, Garmin and women’s fitness concept FitnGlam – Abu Dhabi exclusives, the destination provides a unique offering for residents and tourists alike. The home of home furnishing in Abu Dhabi, Reem Mall has the largest selection of home stores in the capital with over 20 market-leading home and specialty brands. These include Marina Home, Homecentre, Home Box, Better Life, Danube Home, Zara Home, Jashanmal, Chattels & More, The One and Suncoast amongst others.

Reem Mall also boasts an unmatched entertainment offering. Snow Abu Dhabi, the region’s largest snow park, offers over 20 rides and attractions for guests. This is complemented by the only VOX Cinemas in the UAE which offers exclusive private screening experiences, and UAE-exclusive gaming and entertainment concept CUBE Challenges, housing 32 rooms of engaging mental, physical and skills-based challenges. Orange Wheels caters to little ones who can learn, play and celebrate occasions. In 2025, Reem Mall unveiled Mini Bounce, the UAE’s first freestyle trampoline playground designed for kids to build essential social, cognitive and resilience skills, further enhancing interactive entertainment for the community. Later this year, Reem Mall will also introduce Ground Control – another Abu Dhabi-exclusive entertainment concept.

Anchored by Carrefour hypermarket and complemented by leading brands like Zara, Nike, Sephora, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Calvin Klein, Brands for Less, Wagamama and many more, visitors can find everything they need all under one roof. Reem Mall’s convenient location, exceptional facilities and unparalleled shopping experience make it the perfect family destination for local residents and tourists visiting Abu Dhabi.

About Agility

Agility Global is a multi-business operator and long-term investor in global and regional businesses. Its portfolio of diversified international assets includes the world’s largest aviation services company (Menzies Aviation); a global fuel logistics business (Tristar); a leading logistics parks developer and operator across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (Agility Logistics Parks); and other businesses in digital logistics, e-commerce logistics, remote-site services, and public-sector logistics. It holds minority stakes in DSV, the world’s largest freight forwarder; Reem Mall, a mega-mall in Abu Dhabi; commercial real estate and supply chain companies in the GCC, and emerging technology companies in e-commerce enablement, energy transition, digital supply chain, and more. Agility Global has a global footprint across six continents and 80 countries, with a workforce of 68,000 employees. It is publicly listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

For more information about Agility Global, please visit:
Website: www.agility.com
Twitter: x.com/agility
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agility
Instagram: Instagram.com/agility
YouTube: youtube.com/user/agilitycorp

About startAD

startAD is an Abu Dhabi-based accelerator, steering local and global startups to scale in the UAE and beyond. Powered by Tamkeen and anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi, startAD is a new model for innovation that creates customized and impact-driven programs in partnership with stakeholders including governments, corporations, investors, and innovation entities, furthering UAE’s transition into a knowledge-based economy. startAD’s unique sprint accelerator model enables corporations to further innovation by partnering with startups disrupting their core businesses, while equipping startups with the training and opportunity to pilot their solutions with industry leaders.

startAD offers unparalleled business advancement opportunities to local and global tech startups, SMEs, researchers, investors, and youth through an extensive range of programs, state-of-the-art facilities, and a strong global network. Driving innovation in construction, retail, finance, and other priority industries in the UAE, startAD alumni startups have raised USD 270 million in investment, generated USD 220 million in revenue, secured over 80 global pilot projects with corporations, and created over 2500 jobs worldwide.

About Curate

Curate, Abu Dhabi’s newest phygital retail concept, is a premium physical location and online platform providing ease of access to the UAE market for local and international brands. Offering 1,200 sqm of experiential physical space at Reem Mall and an innovative online platform that offers UAE-wide delivery, brands can benefit from an established ecosystem that provides storage, staffing, logistical, delivery and dropship capabilities. Combined with Curate’s digital platform, this enables brands from anywhere in the world to establish a presence in the UAE market with ease, in a cost-effective manner. Curate’s innovative digital platform enables endless-aisle capabilities, where a single physical product in-store acts as a gateway for hundreds more brand products online. This phygital concept minimizes the need for brands to stock excessive inventory, while for guests it offers exceptional choice across exclusive offerings. Guests can experience over 100 exclusive brands and thousands of products both in-store and online across beauty, fashion, home, accessories, pre-loved luxury, mobility and more. No checkouts, no queues, just quality assurance from physical products in-store, and the ability to shop many more products online that are not available anywhere else in the UAE.

For more information about Curate, please visit;
website: www.curate.ae
Instagram: instagram.com/curate.ae
Facebook: Curate Abu Dhabi
LinkedIn: Curate.
YouTube: youtube.com/@curateae