Find the programme that fits
25 incubators and accelerators, UAE and global. Fill in the two blanks.
23 programmes match an early-stage founder looking for funding. Top match: Hub71.
- Hub71Fits your stage - offers funding, community, UAE market accessAbu Dhabi
- Microsoft for Startups Founders HubFits your stage - offers funding, technical support, UAE market accessGlobal
- Sheraa - Sharjah Entrepreneurship CenterFits your stage - offers funding, mentorship, communitySharjah
Every programme, one list
Switch the view, or search by name, place or stage.
Ranked for an early-stage founder looking for fundingChange
One of the Gulf's most active technology startup programmes, offering funding, co-investment and ecosystem access to early-stage companies.
Fits your stage - offers funding, community, UAE market access
Microsoft's self-serve startup programme: no cohort, no application wait, no equity taken. Founders get Azure and AI-model credits plus Microsoft's developer tooling from day one, which makes it more of an always-on resource layer than a competitive accelerator.
Fits your stage - offers funding, technical support, UAE market access
An entrepreneurship hub established by the Government of Sharjah with the American University of Sharjah, running accelerator programmes, funding and mentorship for early-stage startups.
Fits your stage - offers funding, mentorship, community
The original Silicon Valley seed accelerator, running two cohorts a year from San Francisco. A large and growing share of every recent batch is AI-native, and YC's published deal terms and alumni network are what most founders mean by "apply to an accelerator."
Fits your stage - offers funding, mentorship, community
Seed-stage investor and accelerator with an active UAE and MENA presence.
Fits your stage - offers funding, mentorship
Andreessen Horowitz's accelerator programme, originally built for games studios and broadened over time to a wider range of consumer and applied-AI companies building interactive products. Runs as a defined cohort backed by a16z's own network rather than a standard follow-on-fund structure.
Fits your stage - offers funding, mentorship, community
Venture builder operating from Dubai Founders HQ, backing founders from pre-idea through to first institutional round.
Fits your stage - offers funding, mentorship, community
AWS Generative AI Accelerator
AI-specificAWS's cohort programme for generative-AI startups building on AWS, run under the wider AWS Activate umbrella and pairing selected companies with AWS technical mentors and cloud credits. Cohort availability has varied year to year rather than running continuously.
Fits your stage - offers funding, technical support
Early-stage seed programme operating across MENA, with a strong regional portfolio and a structured cohort model.
Fits your stage - offers funding, mentorship, community
An incubation initiative under TECOM and the Dubai Development Authority. Offers co-working space, mentorship and seed funding across technology, design and media tracks.
Fits your stage - offers funding, office space, mentorship
An Abu Dhabi-based innovation and incubation hub in Masdar City, running incubation programmes and holding its own investment arm for early-stage companies across emerging technology, including AI.
Fits your stage - offers funding, office space, mentorship
OpenAI Converge
AI-specificOpenAI's cohort programme for startups building AI-native products directly on OpenAI's models, run as periodic "Converge" cohorts with API credits, technical office hours and OpenAI staff access rather than a standard equity investment.
Fits your stage - offers funding, technical support, community
A global network of mentorship-driven accelerators, each run around a city or an industry theme rather than one central programme. Several Techstars programmes run AI-focused cohorts; the terms below are Techstars' general, publicly stated structure rather than any one programme's.
Fits your stage - offers funding, mentorship, community
A Dubai-headquartered platform backing women-led and women-founded startups across the MENA region, combining an angel-investment network with structured programming for early-stage founders.
Fits your stage - offers funding, mentorship, community
Dubai's dedicated startup campus at One Central, housing over 1,100 members and 500 startups, with partners including Antler and Plug and Play.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First
AI-specificGoogle's equity-free accelerator track dedicated to AI-native startups, run as regional cohorts (past editions have covered North America, Europe and other regions) with Google mentors, technical workshops and Google Cloud credits.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
A Dubai-based platform combining business-setup services, talent training and startup programming for technology companies entering the UAE market - often used by founders relocating or expanding into the region rather than starting from an idea.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
DIFC's dedicated fintech accelerator, running an annual cohort that pairs fintech startups - an increasing share of them AI-driven financial products - with banks, insurers and asset managers based at DIFC for structured pilots.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
A tech-startup and entrepreneur hub within Dubai Silicon Oasis, with co-working space, incubation and community programming for early-stage technology and AI founders.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy's startup platform, connecting founders to the emirate's digital economy programmes.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
NVIDIA Inception
AI-specificNVIDIA's free, no-equity programme for AI and data-science startups: technical training, discounted cloud and hardware access, and go-to-market support, rather than a cohort or a cash investment.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
Corporate innovation platform and accelerator operating from Dubai Founders HQ, connecting startups to enterprise pilots.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
An Abu Dhabi startup accelerator anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi and powered by Tamkeen, an Abu Dhabi government-owned entity.
Fits your stage - funding not confirmed
A government-run programme based at Area 2071 that matches startups with Dubai government and semi-government entities for short, structured co-creation cycles against published challenge areas, rather than a standard equity accelerator.
Scale-up support network for founders past product-market fit, focused on growth rather than early-stage acceleration.
Beyond the list
Nakoda is independent of every programme here and takes no referral income from any of them.
Tell us where you’re stuck- Business setup advisoryPick a jurisdiction before a programme, not after.
- Community and networkWhere founders connect once they are through the door.
- Nakoda NewsUAE funding rounds, cohorts and programme launches.
- Nakoda ShopTemplates and resources for the application itself.
How this list is kept
Every entry links to the programme’s own site. Check terms there before you apply.
A deadline appears only when we have a confirmed date that is still ahead. Most programmes run rolling or per-cohort intakes.
UAE programmes already in the ecosystem directory open their profile there.