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WOMEN IN AV & TECH STARTUP COMPETITION CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS

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Give to Gain in action: $15,000 in funding to back women-led AV startups.

Alex Kemanes and Dino Drimakis, long-standing leaders in the global AV and technology ecosystem, have announced the launch of the Women in AV & Tech Startup Prize, a global call designed to identify and back early-stage founders building practical, execution-ready solutions for the AV ecosystem and closely related fields. The competition is built as a long-term platform open to early-stage women founders.  Announced during the International Women’s month and supported by, The Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA) Women’s Council, a global community committed to supporting and empowering women in the technology and AV industry.

In 2024, female-only founding teams received 2.3% of the $289 billion invested globally in venture capital around $6.7 billion underscoring the scale of the funding gap this initiative aims to address

“This is about taking action, not just having conversations,” said Alex Kemanes, Partner at Midwich Ignite and Regional Managing Director, MESEA at Midwich Group, who is personally supporting and funding the initiative. “If we want to see more women leading and building in our industry, we have to create practical pathways for them. The Women in AV & Tech Startup Prize is one way we are doing that. At the same time, we are backing founders who can execute, people who understand their market, define real problems, and have a credible path to building sustainable businesses.”

Submissions open 8th of March 2026. Founders can apply from anywhere in the world, whether they’re involved directly with AV innovations or part of the AV ecosystem. The criteria to be selected is not based on revenue from the business, or a finished product; it’s rather solving a problem, market viability, and intent to build a lasting solution.

To enter, applicants submit a pitch deck (maximum 20 slides) and a short founder video. What matters is not designing polish, but thinking: the problem and who it affects, what’s being built and why it’s better, who the customer is, how the business makes money, and what stage it’s currently at, idea, prototype, pilots, users, revenue.

“This isn’t a pitch-polish contest,” said Dino Drimakis, Director, Strategic Development, MESEA, Midwich Group who is also personally backing the initiative. “We’re looking for clear thinking, real-world problem selection, and credible pathways to market. Fundamentals beat hype.”

The winner will receive a $15,000 cash prize, awarded and announced on 22nd of April 2026. Any follow-up engagement is at the discretion of the jury and sponsors.

Submissions will be collected via the official competition platform and undergo an initial eligibility and quality review. Shortlisted applications will then be evaluated by an independent jury panel. Judging will focus on problem relevance, solution credibility, market understanding, founder insight, and execution potential.

To maintain the integrity of the program and its participants, the jury reserves the right to withhold the award if no submission meets the required standard. In such cases, feedback may be provided, or the prize may be carried forward to a future edition.

Key dates

  • Call for submissions opens: 8th March 2026
  • Submission deadline: 6th April, 2026
  • Winner announcement: 22nd April, 2026
  • To apply: Women in Tech Startup
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SYNOLOGY UNDERSCORES NEED FOR CYBER RESILIENCE AND AI-READY INFRASTRUCTURE IN MIDDLE EAST

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Synology, a global technology company that enables businesses to manage, secure, and protect their data, highlighted the accelerating shift from traditional backup methods to integrated, resilience‑driven strategies among Middle Eastern enterprises during a successful online media briefing it recently hosted.

The company emphasized the urgent need for businesses to modernize their data protection strategies as rising cyber risks, accelerating AI adoption, and evolving data sovereignty requirements continue to redefine the region’s digital landscape. Recent reports indicate that cyberattacks across the GCC have surged by nearly 40 percent year on year, with the UAE alone experiencing more than 200,000 attempted intrusions per day. This points to the critical need for more robust, adaptive, and forward-looking data protection strategies.

During the session, Synology underscored a significant shift among regional enterprises towards comprehensive approaches for continuous data protection, enhanced recovery readiness, and secure infrastructure designed to support AI-driven innovation. Mike Chen, Senior Sales Manager at Synology, emphasized that modern organizations require integrated solutions that not only safeguard critical data but also enable operational agility and scalable growth in an increasingly digital economy.

“Data security today is no longer just about backups—it is about building continuous resilience, ensuring rapid recovery, and maintaining full control over critical assets,” said Mike Chen, Senior Sales Manager at Synology. “As AI adoption accelerates, organizations need secure, scalable infrastructure that not only protects against evolving threats but also enables them to innovate with confidence.”

Synology highlighted two priority areas for enterprises in the UAE and wider region. The first is unlocking value from fragmented and unstructured data through integrated storage, hybrid cloud architectures, and AI-driven capabilities such as semantic search and intelligent workflows. The second is strengthening digital sovereignty by enabling organizations to retain full control over their data while meeting evolving regulatory and operational requirements.

The company also pointed to real-world applications of its solutions, citing the Museum of the Future as a case in point. The landmark institution has leveraged Synology’s technologies to support scalable storage, real-time collaboration, and reliable media backup in a high-demand, data-intensive environment.

With more than 14 million installations across over 120 markets, Synology continues to support organizations in building secure, resilient, and AI-ready data ecosystems as digital transformation accelerates across the Middle East.

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TALLY SOLUTIONS RECOGNISED BY UAE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AS A PRE-APPROVED E-INVOICING SERVICE PROVIDER

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Tally Solutions, a leading global technology company providing business management software to small and medium businesses worldwide, has been included in the UAE Ministry of Finance’s list of Pre-Approved E-Invoicing Service Providers under the country’s upcoming e-invoicing framework.

With this recognition, Tally further strengthens its position as one of the most trusted and relevant business management solutions for SMEs in the UAE. As one of the few globally established providers with a strong SME focus to achieve this status, Tally is well placed to help businesses transition confidently to the next phase of digital compliance.

The inclusion reflects Tally’s long-standing approach of combining simplicity, localisation, and regulatory readiness into everyday business workflows. For SMEs, where time, cost, and ease of adoption are critical, the move to e-invoicing requires more than technical compliance; it requires a solution that is dependable, intuitive, and built around real business needs.

Over the years, Tally has supported businesses across multiple markets through major regulatory transitions, including VAT implementation, e-invoicing mandates, and digital tax reforms. In the UAE, this experience is complemented by continued investments in bilingual capabilities, connected compliance features, secure cloud-enabled access, and product innovations that help businesses remain future-ready without added complexity.

Commenting on the announcement, Vikas Panchal, General Manager – MENA, Tally Solutions, said: “At Tally, our purpose has always been to empower SMEs with technology that is simple to adopt, reliable to run, and easy to scale. Being recognised as a Pre-Approved E-Invoicing Service Provider by the UAE Ministry of Finance is an important milestone and a reflection of the trust we have built with businesses across the region. Having supported regulatory transitions in multiple markets, we understand that compliance must be practical, not complicated. Our focus is to ensure UAE businesses can embrace e-invoicing with confidence while continuing to grow without disruption.”

The recognition also comes at a time when the UAE’s e-invoicing market is witnessing strong momentum, driven by the country’s broader digital economy agenda and the growing adoption of structured financial systems. As businesses prepare for this shift, Tally’s pre-approved status gives SMEs the confidence of choosing a solution already aligned with the government’s evolving framework.

Currently, around 20 companies have been listed by the Ministry of Finance as pre-approved e-invoicing service providers. While many providers in the accounting and ERP segment primarily cater to large enterprises, Tally continues to stand apart through its strong focus on SMEs, delivering compliant, accessible, and scalable solutions designed for the realities of growing businesses.

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BOSCH IS INVESTING IN ITS FUTURE FIELDS OF BUSINESS

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Innovations and the development of new business areas have made Bosch the technology leader it is today. To expand its innovation landscape further, the company is investing around 200 million euros in its subsidiary Bosch Business Innovations over the next five years. As a corporate venture builder, the unit develops new business ideas beyond Bosch’s current core business and builds startups from the early stages onward. The aim is to systematically bring these to market maturity and also to develop new leading business models for Bosch.

To this end, Bosch Business Innovations has defined business areas in line with the Bosch strategy in which investments are to be prioritized and in which the market dynamics are an optimal match for Bosch’s competencies and technological expertise. The first of these are software-controlled manufacturing, remote health monitoring, and the capture, use, and storage of greenhouse gases. Further business areas will be added over the next four years, with the goal of having 20 successful startups in operation by 2030.

“Innovative strength and technology leadership are an integral part of Bosch’s history,” says Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “We have always continued to develop by identifying and investing in new technologies early and decisively – because innovation is our most important currency. We’re now significantly strengthening Bosch Business Innovations with financial resources so that new ideas have a home and the space to develop.”

Axel Deniz, CEO of Bosch Business Innovations, adds: “Our aim is to systematically develop new ideas beyond our current core business. To achieve this, we rely on Bosch’s strengths, in particular its technological expertise and patent power. We combine this structural advantage of a large company with the speed and flexibility of the startup world.”

Bosch Business Innovations accelerates market maturity with partnerships
To bring both worlds together in an optimal way, Bosch Business Innovations relies on a partnership model: it joins with experienced venture studios to build new business ideas from scratch and bring them quickly to market maturity. Bosch thus combines its own strengths – from technological expertise and patent power to industrial scaling – with the deployment speed and venture-building expertise of external partners. This creates a model in which opportunities and risks are deliberately shared and innovations are systematically put into implementation.
The focus is on the founders: Bosch Business Innovations is also open to external entrepreneurs in particular and gives them a crucial head start. They are involved in the company at an early stage, take on responsibility, and play an active role in shaping the startup from the very beginning. In addition, external investors are involved early on so as to tap into additional capital and market access. The approach is supported by specialized partners who contribute market and technology trends and facilitate access to international startup ecosystems.
Growth market for remote health monitoring
In the field of remote health monitoring, Bosch Business Innovations sees a rapidly growing market that has thus far remained fragmented. Bosch already has a strong healthcare ecosystem that includes the Robert Bosch Hospital and numerous hospital partnerships. This is complemented by Bosch’s technological expertise: among other things, the company is the global market leader for MEMS sensors, which are indispensable in remote health monitoring.

In software-controlled manufacturing, Bosch looks to its own industrial strength as well as its expertise in data, software, and AI. Targeted investments in startups are intended to create platform-based business models for software in manufacturing operations.

The third defined investment area is carbon capture, a strategic area of development. Bosch is examining ways in which industrial decarbonization and carbon capture from the ambient air can be translated into business models.

Bosch Business Innovations realigns existing portfolio
Bosch Business Innovations evolved from grow platform GmbH, a wholly owned Bosch subsidiary that developed internal startups within the company. The previous portfolio was restructured by Bosch Business Innovations. The aim is to create viable future prospects within or outside Bosch for all existing teams. For example, Bosch Advanced Ceramics achieved an important milestone at the end of 2025: the ceramic 3D printing specialist was successfully sold to Sintokogio, a leading provider of industrial equipment and manufacturing solutions.

Bosch Business Innovations is thus establishing itself as a further pillar of innovation activity at Bosch. The other pillars include, among others, the extensive research and development activities across the company and the existing venture capital unit, Bosch Ventures.

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