Turning the UAE's ambition into venture-backed companies that create high-value jobs, attract global capital, and scale from the Emirates to the world.
The UAE is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. It is also, paradoxically, the only global economic hub without a tier-one, founder-centric accelerator comparable to Y Combinator, Techstars, or 500 Global. Majlis closes that gap.
Operating under Majlis Capital FZCO, with institutional co-direction from government officials and members of the UAE royal family, the program takes ten companies per cohort, twice a year, and deploys them from concept to paying customer in twelve weeks. The governing principle is straightforward. Speed to revenue above all else.
Majlis exists to retain UAE founding talent, attract global founders to the Emirates, and create a compounding pipeline of venture-backed companies that serve the nation's Vision 2031 objectives: economic diversification, innovation leadership, and sustained high-value job creation.
Every cohort is held to the same economic standard: twenty new companies per year, eighty to one hundred and twenty direct jobs, forty million dirhams of follow-on capital flowing into the ecosystem, and a five-year portfolio designed to cross two billion.
Majlis operates with institutional backing from UAE government bodies, including the Department of Finance Dubai, Dubai Future Foundation, VARA, and DMCC. Every portfolio company inherits credibility, regulatory access, and procurement pathways no private accelerator can offer.
Every session, introduction, and dollar of capital points at one target: a paying customer or signed letter of intent by the end of week four. Majlis measures success in weeks, not quarters. Teams that cannot move at this speed do not move forward.
Over half a million dollars of credits, access, and enterprise introductions from Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Anthropic, Stripe, Alchemy, Binance, Emirates NBD, and more than twenty further partners. Active on day one of kick-off week.
Majlis Demo Day is held in one of the most iconic venues in the world. Open to the public, live-streamed globally, attended by sovereign wealth institutions, tier-one venture funds, and regional family offices. The stage matches the ambition.
Majlis is built for technology founders who want to move fast and do not want to choose between a global market and a regulated one. Join ten companies per cohort, receive capital in-account before kick-off, and leave week four with a paying customer.
Majlis gives institutional capital a structured, high-signal way to source Gulf and emerging-market technology deals. Every cohort arrives at Demo Day with live revenue metrics on the pitch slide, not promises.
Majlis is designed as a platform for strategic partners across regulators, enterprise, global technology providers, and ecosystem institutions to engage with the region's most credible founder cohort under one operating roof.
Majlis is not a research programme. It is not a networking exercise. Every decision, every session, every mentor introduction, every dollar of capital points at one outcome. The founder's first paying customer. Teams that can move at this speed thrive. Those that cannot are not the right fit.
Kick-off week closes with every team having named their first target customer, set a 12-week revenue milestone, and committed to a weekly execution cadence. No exceptions, no extensions.
The internal clock is a week, not a month. Mentor office hours, investor prep, and regulatory workshops all operate on a weekly cadence. Teams that miss weeks fall behind the cohort.
Majlis mentors are operators: serial founders, sector CEOs, and institutional investors. Sessions are working sessions. Feedback is blunt. Calendars are open outside the program hours.
Every team arrives at the Museum of the Future with real revenue and live customer data on their slides. Decks are built around what actually happened over twelve weeks, not what could hypothetically happen next.
Majlis is sector-agnostic by design. We select for founders, wedge, and speed, not for themes. Cohort composition is weighted toward technology companies with a regulated-market thesis and a credible path into the GCC.
Majlis is hybrid by design. Two mandatory in-person milestones in Dubai, with programming between them fully remote. Every week is structured around removing a specific blocker between the team and its first paying customer.
All ten teams arrive in Dubai. Opening sessions with both co-directors establish each team's revenue hypothesis, success metric, and twelve-week execution plan. The week closes with every team having a clear, time-bound path to a paying customer.
Ship something a customer will pay for. Target: one paying customer or signed letter of intent by the end of week four. Office hours focus on removing blockers to revenue, not polishing product.
With early customers in hand, teams focus on repeatability. Go-to-market strategy, pricing, sales process, and UAE and GCC market entry playbooks are developed and tested.
VARA, ADGM, and DIFC briefings for fintech and digital asset companies. IP registration, data residency, and cross-border licensing workshops across all sectors. Coordinated introductions to the Department of Finance Dubai and DMCC.
Pitch decks and financial models built around real traction. Mock sessions with VC and public investor panels. Every team arrives at Demo Day with live revenue metrics on their slides.
All ten teams return to Dubai for Demo Day week. Pitch event, one-on-one investor meetings, a private Tier 3 sovereign briefing the day before, and the cohort celebration dinner. Follow-on capital decisions made within six weeks.
Majlis operates two capital vehicles under one institutional roof. A lean pre-seed SAFE structure for every accepted team, and a follow-on Series A fund that re-invests in the top performers from each cohort.
Every company accepted into Majlis receives 200,000 AED at batch start via a post-money SAFE. No milestone gates. No tranches. Capital is in the founder's account before the first session, sized to give each team real runway to reach their first paying customer within the program.
Majlis Capital FZCO takes a 2% stake via SAFE on behalf of the program. Lean by design, so founders keep maximum ownership while gaining access to the Majlis investor network, UAE government procurement channels, and the full partner ecosystem from day one.
Top performers from each cohort are eligible for follow-on capital through Majlis Capital, managed by Majlis Capital FZCO with a panel of regional and institutional LPs. Target cheque sizes of AED 2M to 8M at Series A. Investment hurdle: a credible path to 40M+ AED ARR within 24 months of the round. Board seat, operational oversight, and enterprise customer introductions included as standard.
Every Majlis partner provides more than software access. Founders receive preferred business terms, network introductions, and in many cases direct enterprise customer pathways through the partner ecosystem, available from day one of kick-off week.
Government financial advisory, public-sector procurement introductions, and co-endorsement for government-aligned initiatives.
Program endorsement, alumni network access, and introductions to Dubai smart city and future-economy initiatives.
Regulatory guidance and licensing pathway support for digital asset and fintech companies, including direct compliance officer introductions.
Expedited company registration, discounted trade licensing, co-working access, and introductions to the DMCC enterprise network.
Startup banking with preferred rates and fintech sandbox access through ENBD X.
Labs network access, Web3 builder office hours, and Binance Pay integration support for qualifying cohort companies.
Cross-programme referrals and Abu Dhabi expansion incentive packages for graduated cohort companies.
Pilot opportunities with Careem Super App and direct introductions to the Careem Pay team.
Connectivity credits and enterprise pilot opportunities across the e& enterprise portfolio.
Cloud infrastructure and connectivity at preferred business rates for cohort companies.
Infrastructure credits, Vertex AI access, and a dedicated startup success manager per cohort company.
Azure for Startups including OpenAI Service, Copilot Studio, and GitHub Copilot enterprise licences.
AWS Activate Pro with Bedrock, SageMaker, and priority startup support with a dedicated solutions architect.
Claude API credits, early model access, and enterprise AI implementation support for cohort companies.
Waived processing fees on the first $1M of volume and preferred rates post-program.
Blockchain RPC infrastructure, ERC-4337 account abstraction, and gas-optimisation tooling.
90% off all hubs for year one with alumni rates continuing into year two.
Free global payroll for twelve months and Golden Visa immigration support for international teams.
Corporate cards, elevated spending limits, and $50K in bonus rewards for cohort companies.
Majlis is co-directed by two complementary leaders. A technology operator with deep experience scaling enterprise, blockchain, and AI companies, and a strategic advisor with close institutional ties across UAE banking, business growth, and partnerships. Operator judgement paired with institutional reach.
Damon is a technology executive and investor with over 25 years of experience across enterprise technology and emerging innovation. After 17 years at Microsoft, he spent the past 8 helping companies at the intersection of blockchain, fintech, and AI, supporting clients such as Republic and Binance and leading ventures including Orange Labs.
Mohamed Al Banna is a strategic advisor and entrepreneur with nearly two decades of experience across banking, business growth, and partnerships. He is known for advising senior leaders and royal family offices in the UAE, building high-value connections, and helping ventures grow across multiple industries.
Majlis Demo Day is staged at the Museum of the Future in the UAE. Open to the public, live-streamed globally, and attended in person by sovereign wealth institutions, tier-one venture funds, and regional family offices.
Every twelve-week cohort closes with a full-day Demo event inside one of the most iconic venues in the world. The setting is deliberate. Majlis portfolio companies deserve a stage that reflects the ambition of what they are building. A private Tier 3 briefing day is held the day before, reserved for sovereign wealth funds and regional family offices.
Members of the public can register for the open session and, where permitted, invest in cohort companies through the Majlis SPV structure at a $500 minimum without accreditation.
Reserved seating, advance access to all founder decks, and a private post-event session with every cohort company and their leadership team.
Private company briefings the day before Demo Day, with direct introductions to founders and co-directors. Open exclusively to sovereign wealth funds and regional family offices.
Majlis selects ten companies per cohort. We look for founders who are ready to move fast toward revenue, not toward perfection. These are the six criteria the co-directors weigh most heavily in review.
Majlis runs twice a year with a Spring and Autumn cohort. Both close with Demo Day at the Museum of the Future. Applications for Cohort 01 are open now.
Ten spots. One semester. Your first paying customer by Demo Day at the Museum of the Future.