Synopsis
The UAE will offer a comprehensive soft landing package to five Indian startups selected under the India-UAE CEPA Council programme. These chosen ventures will receive support including visas, accommodation, and mentorship to expand their operations in the UAE and scale globally. The initiative aims to foster market access and investment between the two nations.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will extend a comprehensive soft landing package to five Indian startups, enabling them to expand operations in the UAE and scale their businesses globally. The startups were selected under the India-UAE CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) Council programme after a multi-stage evaluation process, director of the UAE-India CEPA Council, Ahmed Aljneibi.
Speaking to ANI, Aljneibi highlighted the overwhelming response received for the programme, saying, “We had 10,000 applications since the launch back in June… I’m so happy that we finally reached the conclusion of identifying 20 of the best and brightest startups in India and narrowing them down to the five winners who will join us in the UAE for an immersion programme. We will provide them with a soft landing package to help them expand their business into the UAE and, hopefully, scale up globally.”
Detailing the support structure, the CEPA Council Director said the package will include visas, accommodation, transportation, mentorship, trade licensing facilitation and opportunities to engage with investors. “Hopefully, they can find some investment opportunities during their time in the UAE,” he added, noting that the evaluation focused on startups solving real-world problems relevant to the UAE and the broader MENA region. “It was very hard to choose from all 10,000… This is the first iteration of the UAE-India startup series, and we hope to continue this after today,” he said.
DocketRun Founder and CEO Ajay Kabadi outlined plans to expand the company’s operations. “We are working closely with heavy industries in the UAE of steel, aluminium and other industries to replicate the benchmarks we have set in India… We have seen great results in India, and it’s going to work out similarly across other regions as well,” he said.
Raghavendra Meharwade, Mentor at DocketRun, emphasised how the programme’s support enabled them to scale effectively. “… We are into the business of saving lives and increasing the productivity of industries… Our next goal is to prove the same use cases in the UAE at a larger scale… Being selected from 10,000 to being in the top five was not an easy journey. But a fantastic environment and the support provided by this forum, which we used to scale up, helped us believe that we can make it,” he said.
The participation of these startups reflects CEPA’s growing role in enabling market access, investment channels and technology exchange between India and the UAE. With the Gulf region emerging as a global hub for advanced and future industries, Indian entrepreneurs are increasingly exploring the UAE’s rapidly growing innovation ecosystem for expansion, partnerships and capital opportunities.
Source: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com