Expand North Star 2025: Dubai Opens Doors For Indian Startups Seeking Global Scale
From Nykaa to Mamaearth, and Blue Tokai to Go Colors, an expanding roster of Indian startups is looking to the Middle East. For many, the MENA region is not just another market — it’s both a bridge to global expansion and a magnet for deep-pocketed investors. At the heart of this journey is Dubai, the region’s most connected business hub and the natural gateway to these $4 Tn+ economies.
Take the case of Zaara Biotech’s Najeeb Bin Haneef. In 2019, he left Kerala for Dubai with little more than an idea: using algae and seaweed to build sustainable FMCG products. A year later, his pitch won the confidence of TCN International, which committed $10 Mn. By 2022, his startup had set up operations in the UAE.
Haneef’s journey is no outlier. FreshCraft Technologies ($12.7 Mn raised), Machbee Innovations ($1.1 Mn), and ShopDoc ($1.36 Mn) are among the Indian startups that can trace a critical part of their growth back to Dubai’s Expand North Star (ENS).
Hosted by Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy (DCDE) and organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre, ENS has grown into one of the world’s most recognised gathering points for founders, investors, and policymakers. This October, the event returns for its 10th edition at Dubai Harbour (12–15 October), spotlighting how innovators can tap into the networks, trust, and capital they need to scale into lasting businesses.
At ENS 2025, more than 1,800 startups will be pitching to over 1,000 investors. As per the ENS 2025 website, some 70,000 people are expected to stream through the venue over four days, listening to 350 speakers.
Amid those pitches will be hundreds of Indian founders who would be gaining what’s often hardest to find: access. Access to policymakers shaping the region’s digital economy, peers from 100 countries, which could become the bedrock of collaborations that can carry an idea well beyond South Asia.
This year’s speaker line-up includes Sunita Grote (Lead, Ventures, UNICEF Office of Innovation), Sung Sik (Head of EMEA, Samsung Ventures), Ramana Kumar (CEO – Middle East, Paytm), Lily Liu (President, Solana Foundation), and Alona Shevtsova (CEO, Sends).
On the investor side, the event will host representatives from firms such as Lakestar, UCB Ventures, African Infrastructure Investment Managers, JP Morgan, Honda Xcelerator Ventures, SpeedInvest, Truffle Capital, and many more.
ENS 2025: The Ideas, Stages And Shifts To Watch“As we celebrate Expand North Star’s previous achievements, we remain committed to empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and strengthening the position of Expand North Star as a strategic gateway for startups to scale from Dubai to the world,” said Saeed Al Gergawi, Vice President of Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy.
Across four days, the programme will feature keynote addresses, fireside chats, and panel discussions on themes ranging from AI and fintech to robotics, decentralised finance, the future of the internet, and the UAE’s startup launchpad. By night, the agenda shifts gears — yacht parties, AI-powered DJ sets, live shows, and informal meetups bring founders and investors together in a more relaxed setting, swapping notes over food, music, and city lights.
“Capital in our region is relationship-led, so building trust is a must,” Gergawi observed, noting that ENS was designed to shorten the path between pitch and partnership. “At ENS 2025, founders can validate across multiple markets in days rather than months. The goal is to accelerate trust, and then ensure there’s follow-through.”
Alongside its main programme, ENS will also host a series of focused events, each tailored to highlight a different corner of the global startup ecosystem. Some of them are:
ScaleX:
Consumer Tech Zone: A new addition this year, the zone will showcase startups building AR/VR hardware, smart health devices, lifestyle tech and connected products. Backed by accelerators and government innovation programmes, these founders represent the frontier of consumer technology.
North Star Green Impact: