Here's How Endeavor Is Fueling Dubai’s Unicorn Ambitions

As the UAE’s startup landscape evolves from early-stage momentum to scaleup maturity, new initiatives are emerging to support founders as they navigate the path to global success. 

One such initiative is the Unicorn Builder Program, which was launched by the UAE arm of Endeavor, the global community of high-impact entrepreneurs in underserved markets, in partnership with Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy in May 2025, and is tailored to help scale-ups bridge the critical gap between regional traction and global expansion.  

The ten companies selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the program—which come from a broad cross-sector of industries—have collectively raised US$100 million and have a median age of four years. The selected companies include CAMB.AI, a real-time artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice dubbing startup; CyberArrow, a cybersecurity compliance solution; Fuse Finance, a cross-border fintech platform; Lisan, an Arabic generative AI company; Mango Sciences, a digital health data startup; OneX, a private market investment platform; qeen.ai, an AI marketing optimization tool; Seafood Souq, a B2B seafood supply chain platform; Supy, a restaurant procurement solution; and Zest Equity, a digital equity management platform. 

Yana El Dirani, Head of MENA for Endeavor Catalyst—which has backed entrepreneurial success stories like Careem, Kitopi, Huspy, and Property Finder in the UAE—tells Inc. Arabia that the initiative was born to tackle a distinct growth-stage challenge. “The Unicorn Builder Program was created to tackle a key gap in the UAE’s startup ecosystem: the scaling gap," she says. "While early-stage support has grown significantly, there’s still limited infrastructure tailored to help high-potential companies make the leap from regional growth to global scale."

El Dirani explains that the program was specifically designed to provide scaleup founders with the scaffolding they need to successfully navigate complex areas such as governance, talent acquisition, and international fundraising. The ultimate goal? To support the Dubai Economic Agenda’s (D33) bold 10-year strategy, which was spearheaded by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in 2023, which aims to boost foreign trade, attract investment, foster innovation, and support startups and SMEs. As part of its mandate, it aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy by 2033, position the city among the world’s top three economic hubs, and launch 30 globally competitive unicorns within the next 10 years.  

Yana El Dirani, Head of MENA for Endeavor Catalyst.

The Unicorn Builder Program was thus developed to advance the aim of building global unicorns out of Dubai, with El Dirani saying, “By focusing on companies with real traction, the program supports Dubai’s vision of becoming a global hub for digital innovation and entrepreneurship." Here, El Dirani sees both DET and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy as pivotal to the program’s sustainability. “Their continued partnership ensures alignment with Dubai’s D33 agenda and provides the public sector commitment needed to scale this initiative over time,” she says. 

To achieve its goals, the Unicorn Builder Program is zooming in on the challenges that startups face on their journey from launch to scale. “As more startups mature, the next challenge is scale," she explains. "Founders often face hurdles around late-stage capital access, global market entry, and navigating the operational complexity that comes with rapid growth.” However, El Dirani notes that these gaps are far from unique to the UAE. In fact, she points out that they are an inherent part of the evolution of any ecosystem, with the key now being ensuring that support systems are put in place to help companies scale confidently, and globally.  “The Unicorn Builder Program was designed with that in mind," she adds. "It offers tailored support to founders who are past the early stages, but need the right scaffolding to grow further—through capital introductions, global expansion playbooks, peer learning, and boardroom readiness. It complements the broader vision set by Dubai’s D33 agenda by helping founders unlock their next level of growth, here and on the global stage.”

As for what it takes to build—or spot—a unicorn, El Dirani notes that having a long-term vision and transformative potential are key metrics for Endeavor. “At Endeavor, unicorn potential isn’t just about valuation—it’s about ambition, execution, and ecosystem impact," she explains. "We look for founders with the capacity to build large-scale, category-defining companies that can expand beyond their home markets and inspire the next generation.” 

And the 10 startups selected for the inaugural cohort of the program reflect both the movement’s scale-up criteria as well as real-time investor conviction, El Dirani tells us, with Endeavor having involved regional investment funds in a deliberately collaborative process to vet and select the startups that are participating in the program. This, El Dirani tells us, is “a clear signal that investor appetite in the MENA is maturing—moving beyond seed-stage enthusiasm toward long-term bets on scale and sustainability. The fact that these companies already raised over $100 million collectively underscores a growing belief in the region’s unicorn-building capacity.” 

El Dirani also believes that the companies participating in the inaugural cohort are reflective of the direction—and inclusiveness—of Dubai’s innovation economy. “We’re proud to see a cohort that reflects the growing diversity of Dubai’s innovation economy—and we remain committed to backing founders who lead with ambition, challenge norms, and represent the future of entrepreneurship in the region," she says. “What set them apart was their execution readiness—the ability, not just the aspiration, to scale globally—and their appetite for mentorship, peer learning, and long-term value creation.”  

El Dirani also notes that the presence of three startups co-founded by women is an encouraging sign for diversity in the region’s innovation ecosystem. “Gender was not a formal selection criterion—but the result is a powerful indicator of change," she says. "It reflects a broader shift in the region’s entrepreneurial landscape, where more women are leading high-growth ventures and accessing institutional capital." 

But how does Endeavor plan to measure the program's impact? According to El Dirani, it will be through a combination of qualitative and quantitative indicators that focus on founder growth, engagement with the network, and the value that founders derive from mentorship and peer learning. Key metrics will include net promoter scores, frequency of engagement, and long-term behavioral changes. “We’re especially focused on the long-term impact—how founders apply what they’ve learned, pay it forward, and contribute to a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem,” she adds. 

Mentorship and peer learning are also at the heart of the program, particularly when it comes to scaling up. “Scaling in MENA comes with unique dynamics—fragmented markets, cross-border regulatory hurdles, and variable capital availability," El Dirani notes. "The program’s mentorship and peer learning components are designed to confront those challenges head-on. Mentors are chosen very strategically from all over the world to address specific challenges that each founder faces." 

Beyond expert mentorship, the program also emphasizes the value of peer-to-peer learning—an often underestimated but deeply impactful element of the scaleup journey that can foster vulnerability and community among high-growth founders. “The Peer2Peer component offers something equally powerful: a trusted space for founders to engage in open, honest dialogue,” she says. “In curated groups of five to seven, founders share their personal journeys, operational challenges (like hiring for scale, managing governance, and navigating international fundraising), and the realities of building in the region. Each session goes beyond surface-level networking—one founder’s challenge is chosen for a deeper dive, creating an environment where real support and shared learning emerge. It’s not just theory—it’s targeted support for real-world scale.” 

For El Dirani, the defining aspect of the program is its collaborative backbone—particularly the synergy between public and private sector stakeholders, describing partnerships such as the one behind the Endeavor Unicorn Program as “catalytic.” “Endeavor brings almost three decades of experience in identifying and scaling high-impact entrepreneurs, while public sector partners like DET and the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy provide reach, policy backing, and institutional commitment to accelerate systemic change,” El Dirani explains. “When the private and public sectors align behind founders—not just with capital, but with a shared vision—it catalyzes investor confidence, attracts global talent, and creates a flywheel of founder-led reinvestment.”