TiE Women MENA 2025 launches sixth edition to champion the next generation of women entrepreneurs
Applications open until June 15, 2025, inviting women-led startups across MENA to join a transformative entrepreneurial journey.
The Dubai chapter of TiE Global has officially launched the sixth annual TiE Women MENA 2025 competition, an empowering initiative designed to support and elevate women entrepreneurs across the region. The program runs five parallel tracks: TiE Women Emirati, TiE Women UAE, TiE Women Saudi Arabia, TiE Women Egypt, and TiE Women Rest of MENA.
The competition kicks off with an application phase open until June 15, 2025. Through multiple rounds of screening, an impartial jury comprising TiE Dubai Charter Members will identify the most innovative ventures across the five tracks. Shortlisted entries will move forward to regional competitions in September, with finalists presenting their startups in a series of competitive pitch events. Winners from each track will then advance to the MENA finals, set to take place during Expand North Star at GITEX Global in Dubai Harbour this October. The journey concludes with the Global Finals, to be hosted at the TiE Global Summit in Jaipur, India, in December.
At every stage, selected finalists will benefit from a series of one-on-one mentoring clinics, targeted workshops led by TiE Dubai members, networking opportunities with industry leaders, and direct exposure to investors and experts. TiE Dubai Charter Members, a community of seasoned business leaders and entrepreneurs, will drive mentorship and training, offering startups vital insights to scale their businesses.
Tapping into the vast, underutilised pool of female talent presents a significant opportunity, with research indicating that the MEA region could add $812 billion to its GDP over the next three years if gender parity across the region mirrors the progress seen in the UAE.
Since its inception in 2020, TiE Women MENA has witnessed double-digit growth in the number of applicants annually, with startups increasingly focused on social impact sectors such as HealthTech, EdTech, Sustainability, and Life Sciences. As a mission-driven initiative, the competition collaborates with 16+ accelerators, incubators, venture capital funds, and angel investor networks, leveraging their combined strengths to empower and elevate women entrepreneurs across the startup ecosystem.
The TiE Women MENA 2024 winners stand as shining examples: Maryam Al Ansari (Itifaq, UAE) using AI for legal research; Ria Chakrabarti (Veristyle, UAE) leveraging computer vision for personal styling; Nadine Farrag (Farahy, Egypt), founder of Egypt's largest wedding platform; Fatimah Al Abbad (Magic Pin, Saudi Arabia) developing minimally invasive orthopaedic devices; and Nivine Hachem (Paltic, Rest of MENA) creating sustainable building materials from recycled plastics.
The TiE Women Global Finals winner will receive an equity-free cash grant of $50,000, further boosting their business growth and impact.
Open to female-founded or co-founded startups less than seven years old (registered after January 1, 2018), the competition seeks to boost ventures with demonstrated traction. Participating founders must hold at least 33% equity.
Application details and submission can be accessed through the official TiE Women website.
