Post by : Rameen Ariff

Five Indian start-ups have earned a fully sponsored opportunity to establish themselves in the United Arab Emirates after winning the UAE-India CEPA Council’s Start-Up Series, marking a significant milestone for Indian entrepreneurship on the global stage. The announcement followed a two-day grand finale held on November 24 and 25 in New Delhi, showcasing India’s growing innovation landscape and offering a pathway for start-ups aiming to expand internationally.

The competition attracted over 10,000 applications from across India, highlighting the country’s deep pool of entrepreneurial talent. From this vast pool, 20 finalists were selected to pitch their solutions across diverse sectors including artificial intelligence, fintech, sustainability, health technology, manufacturing, agriculture, space, and next-generation mobility. The final pitches were evaluated by a distinguished jury featuring the UAE Ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshaali, Hub71 CEO Ahmad Ali Alwan, V3 Ventures Co-Founder Arjun Vaidya, and Offline Founder Utsav Somani, along with experts from the CEPA Council, DP World, Emirates NBD, and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

The five winning start-ups now represent some of India’s most promising early-stage innovation. Hyderabad-based Bioreform, selected by RAKEZ, develops sustainable packaging alternatives to single-use plastics using a proprietary biopolymer blend that is biodegradable and compostable. Data Sutram, chosen by Emirates NBD, is a Kolkata-based regulatory intelligence platform that processes over 250 data sources to provide real-time insights for fraud prevention, underwriting, and personalized customer solutions. DP World selected DocketRun, an industrial safety platform from Hubballi that leverages edge AI and vision analytics to detect and prevent hazardous events before they occur. Endimension, an AI radiology start-up from Mumbai, was selected by Hub71 and supports more than 800 hospitals and diagnostic centers, enhancing the speed and accuracy of X-ray, CT, and MRI analysis. Finally, SBNRI, chosen by First Abu Dhabi Bank, is a Gurugram-based fintech platform offering non-resident Indians a unified digital ecosystem for global banking, investment, and taxation.

Each of these start-ups will receive a comprehensive soft landing package in the UAE, including incubation support, assistance with business establishment, trade license facilitation, and regulatory guidance. Additionally, Hub71 will integrate the winners into its newly launched Immersion Programme, providing virtual onboarding, in-person sessions in Abu Dhabi, curated knowledge workshops, mentorship, and access to the emirate’s growing technology ecosystem.

UAE Ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshaali praised the programme, emphasizing the remarkable innovation he witnessed across India’s start-up hubs and the strong response as a reflection of deepening economic and people-to-people ties between the UAE and India. CEPA Council Director Ahmed Aljneibi highlighted that this initiative is the first to take Indian start-ups from application to a fully sponsored UAE landing within such a short period, reinforcing the council’s commitment to helping companies scale internationally.

Hub71 CEO Ahmad Ali Alwan noted the increasing interest of Indian entrepreneurs in using the UAE as a global growth hub, highlighting Endimension’s impressive application of AI in radiology workflows. RAKEZ Group CEO Ramy Jallad commended Bioreform’s innovative and sustainable packaging technology, which aligns with the UAE’s goals to reduce single-use plastics. DP World’s Hemant Kumar Ruia lauded DocketRun’s scalable industrial safety solutions, while First Abu Dhabi Bank’s India CEO, Nimesh Karwanyun, highlighted SBNRI’s regional expertise and readiness for global expansion.

Launched in January 2024 during Vibrant Gujarat by UAE Minister for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and India’s Commerce and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the Start-Up Series reflects the UAE-India CEPA Council’s agile and innovation-driven approach to strengthening bilateral ties. With their upcoming UAE soft landing, these five Indian start-ups are now positioned to leverage the Gulf region’s rapidly growing technology market and expand their operations across the Middle East, setting the stage for a transformative new phase in international growth and collaboration.

This achievement not only strengthens India-UAE business relations but also positions Indian start-ups as key players in the global innovation ecosystem, opening doors to international partnerships, market expansion, and access to world-class resources in the UAE.

#Business News