TiE Dubai Opens Applications for Women MENA 2026

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Wednesday, 10 June 2026

TiE Dubai, the local branch of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a worldwide platform that promotes entrepreneurship, announces the launch of the 7th edition of the TiE Women MENA Program 2026.

This program has been recognized as one of the largest structured platforms in the region dedicated to the support, mentorship, and growth of women-led startups across the MENA region. Women founders or co-founders who hold at least 33% equity in their businesses and whose companies have been licensed on or after 1 January 2019 can apply by 25 June 2026.

MENA startup funding in April 2026 was $150 million through 27 deals, which indicated renewed investor confidence throughout the ecosystem. The TiE Women MENA Program 2026 is designed to add to this momentum by supporting women entrepreneurs throughout the region.

Key Highlights:

• TiE Dubai announces TiE Women MENA 2026 for female-led ventures
• Initiative provides mentoring, investment chances, and connection to investors
• Deadline for applications is June 25, 2026

The initiative aims to provide a comprehensive support system to a selected group of founders by offering them structured mentorship, investor introductions, pitch training, opportunities for increased visibility, and interactions with regional and global stakeholders. Besides, there will be a range of funding opportunities such as equity-free prize money and becoming a part of a long-term entrepreneurial community that extends beyond the competition phase. Being a mission-driven project, the program is enriched by a broad network of ecosystem partners, comprising a number of accelerators, incubators, VC funds, angel investors, corporates, and entrepreneurship platforms. Together, these partners are committed to equipping women founders with mentorship and support.

This year's edition will be sponsored by Nokia, the official partner, along with longstanding partners TECOM, Dubai Internet City, and the in5 Innovation Centers.

June will be packed with a lot of exciting activities as the month leading up to our program. We are holding an AMA session with TiE Women Alumni on June 14, a special webinar to answer all the questions related to this year's program and TiE Women MENA Open Pitch Night on June 21, at Cafe Rider, Al Quoz, Dubai are some of the highlights. The latter offers women entrepreneurs a great opportunity to present their startup ideas, receive honest feedback and network with investors, mentors and fellow founders through a pitch event.

Carlina Marani, the Co-Chair of TiE Women MENA, is a digital transformation and global business development expert, with over two decades of experience in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Middle East region. Alonside, Shameema Parveen, the Co-Chair of TiE Women MENA, is also the co-founder and CEO of Edutech and a passionate entrepreneur empowering women through business development.

Both of them commented: “Having co-led the 2025 edition, we have seen firsthand how this program brings incredible energy, enthusiasm, and a positive boost to female entrepreneurs across the region. Since the launch of TiE Women in 2020, the women founders we met through the program never stopped building, whether through the global pandemic, or through current geopolitical turbulence. Women founders are defined by not just resilience, but the ability to make decisions under pressure, adapt quickly, and maintain long-term vision when the environment around them is anything but certain.”