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TiE Women MENA Crowns Five Regional Winners Ahead of GITEX Global Final

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TiE Dubai, the regional chapter of TiE Global, has officially announced the five regional winners, who will compete at the seventh edition of the TiE Women MENA program 2026. Following a series of virtual regional finals held from September 8 to 17, five women founders emerged as track winners, one from each category. In the country tracks, Naglaa Mohamed, Co-Founder of P-Vita (Egypt), Lea Mehaweg, Co-Founder and CEO of Maison Safqa (Saudi Arabia), and Anuscha Iqbal, Co-Founder and CEO of Qanooni AI (UAE) took top honours. Rowan Alawi, CEO of Trase, won the Rest of MENA track, while Aisha Alyassi, Founder and Brand Director of SCULP, was named the Emirati track winner.

This year drew 250+ licensed, women-founded businesses, up from almost 200 in 2025, with strong showings in AI and SaaS, AgriTech and FoodTech, HealthTech, sustainability and fashion. From this pool, 228 founders were shortlisted and 46 went on to pitch in the regional finals, where each track named one winner and two runners-up. Founders were assessed on their idea, go-to-market strategy, team strength, competitive advantage, product-market fit, financial objectives, and operational and technical viability. Each finalist was paired with dedicated mentors who worked closely with them to get pitch- and market-ready, helping them sharpen and scale their businesses ahead of the regional finals.

At the regional finals, shortlisted founders pitched before juries drawn from venture capital, technology, banking, media and innovation. The Egypt panel featured Angeliki Karayianni of Nokia, Dina El-Shenoufy of F6 Ventures and Haifa A, formerly of Riyad Bank; Saudi Arabia brought together Abdulrahman AlJiffry of 500 Global, Dalia Nabil of Nokia and former Google and Microsoft leader Roberto Croci. The Rest of the Middle East jury included Dalia Amin of Nokia, Dr. Islam Shdaifat of JoVision and Nesma Abdel Azim of Wamda, while the UAE panel comprised Aamer Sheikh of Homegrown Ventures, Jacopo Carlo Canale of Global Ventures and May El-Rafie of Nokia. The Emirati track was judged by Lucy Chow of Pact Ventures, Saeed Alnofeli of in5 Innovation Centers and Sönke Peters of Nokia.

At Expand North Star in GITEX Global 2026, the winners will receive a dedicated pod to showcase their businesses, gaining direct access to investors and other key stakeholders. The five founders will now compete for the MENA title at the finals in December at GITEX Global 2026.

Beyond the winners’ circle, the 2026 cohort tells a clear story of founders building for the region’s most pressing challenges. AI ran through almost every track, powering solutions in legal services, construction, livestock health, prenatal care and community platforms, while sustainability shaped ventures turning farm waste into fertilizer, discarded yarn into premium textiles and smart sensors into water savings of 30-45% in a water-scarce region. Equally striking was the number of founders designing products specifically for women, from safe mobility to mental wellbeing and maternal health.

The program is run by TiE Dubai and powered by official partner Nokia, alongside longtime partners TECOM, Dubai Internet City and the in5 Innovation Centers. It is further supported by a wide network of ecosystem partners that continue to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial network.

5 mentors, the majority TiE Charter Members, will continue supporting the cohort beyond the finals.

Carlina Marani and Shameema Parveen, Co-Chairs of TiE Women MENA 2026, commented, “The quality of the candidates and their pitch decks was exceptionally high this year, and what stood out was the diversity of sectors represented. We saw everything from Emirati food products and AI-powered solutions for water conservation and fetal health to second-hand and sustainability-focused businesses. Across the program, there was a clear sense that these women are building businesses with the intention to create meaningful impact. Their enthusiasm was infectious throughout the finals, both online and in person across the UAE and Emirati tracks.We are now looking forward to the GITEX finals and to seeing these companies continue to grow and make their mark across the region.”

Despite MENA startups raising USD 150 million across 27 deals in April 2026, the funding gap for female-founded startups remained stark, with just USD 2.5 million going to them in H1 2026, or 0.14% of the region’s USD 1.7 billion venture funding. TiE Dubai remains committed to closing the gap through practical support, mentorship, funding access, visibility and a clear path from pitch to market, backing women entrepreneurs with regional networking and community engagement initiatives that strengthen their growth and presence in the ecosystem.

In the MENA region, the program has supported more than 1,000 women-led businesses, curated 350+ pitches and awarded AED 380K in equity-free prize money over the past four years. Globally, TiE Women has become one of the largest pitch platforms for women entrepreneurs, receiving more than 11,000 applications across 62 countries and accelerating over 500 women-led startups.

Aisha Alyassi, Founder of SCULP, winner of the Emirati track of TiE Women MENA 2026, reflected, “Being named a TiE Women MENA Regional Winner is an incredibly meaningful milestone, especially as a founder building SCULP from the ground up. The experience has pushed me to think bigger, sharpen my vision, and connect with a community of women who genuinely believe in what we’re building and where it can go.”

Danial Mausoof, Vice President MI Segment, MEA at Nokia, said: “At Nokia, we believe that innovation thrives when diverse perspectives, bold ideas and entrepreneurial ambition come together. We are proud to partner with TiE Women MENA and support a platform that gives women founders across the region the visibility and mentorship they need to turn innovative ideas into businesses with real impact. The diversity and ambition we have seen throughout this year’s program are a strong reflection of the depth of entrepreneurial talent across MENA. We congratulate all five regional winners and look forward to seeing them taking their businesses to the next level and showcase the innovation emerging from the region on the global stage.”

Ahead, all five regional winners will continue one-to-one work with their assigned mentors to sharpen their pitch, go-to-market strategy and investor materials ahead of the MENA finals at GITEX Global 2026 in December.  For more information, visit the official TiE Women website.

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Vertiv™ Coolant Distribution Unit qualified as NVIDIA DSX Ready for AI Factory Infrastructure

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Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, today announced the 2.3 MW Vertiv™ CoolChip coolant distribution unit (CDU) model has qualified as a NVIDIA DSX Ready CDU. The 2.3 MW CDU model is the first CDU to qualify specifically as NVIDIA DSX Ready. Vertiv is among the initial providers of qualified CDU solutions in the NVIDIA DSX Ready program, which enables AI factory builders to identify specific power and cooling products that meet applicable NVIDIA DSX requirements.

“The scale of AI deployment is forcing a more integrated approach to data center infrastructure,” said Scott Armul, Chief Product and Technology Officer of Vertiv. “Compute, power and cooling decisions can no longer be made independently. A constraint on any one of those systems can limit the performance and productive capacity of the entire facility. NVIDIA DSX Ready gives customers a more consistent basis for evaluating critical infrastructure within that larger design.”

Armul continued: “The qualification of Vertiv’s 2.3 MW CDU model reflects our continued focus on providing the thermal building blocks, engineering expertise and lifecycle support customers need as they plan and operate increasingly complex AI environments.”

A coolant distribution unit, or CDU, manages the flow and temperature of liquid used to remove heat from high-density computing systems. The DSX Ready 2.3 MW model is part of Vertiv’s liquid-to-liquid CDU portfolio, supporting direct-to-chip and rear-door heat exchanger applications and designed for installation at the end of a row or along the room perimeter.

Connecting AI factory design to qualified cooling products

AI factories are data centers designed to develop and operate AI models and applications at scale. As computing density and infrastructure scale increase, power, cooling, water, site and grid constraints increasingly influence what builders can deploy.

The NVIDIA DSX AI Factory Platform unifies AI factory design and operations across compute, networking, power, cooling, facilities and software. It helps partners design and operate the factory as one system to support AI output within available power, cooling, water and grid constraints.

NVIDIA DSX Ready connects specific products to applicable NVIDIA DSX requirements. For CDU providers, the program uses the NVIDIA CDU self-qualification suite to determine whether a specific offering meets applicable functional requirements.

Qualification does not replace the engineering required for a particular site or configuration, and customers must still determine how a qualified product will fit within their facility design, system configuration and operating requirements.

For more information about the Vertiv portfolio of power, cooling, infrastructure, IT systems and services for critical digital applications, visit Vertiv.com.

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Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre and PATRIZIA sign strategic partnership to support infrastructure investment and development

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The Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC)and PATRIZIA, an investment manager in real assets, have signed a strategic partnership to deepen cooperation around infrastructure investment and project delivery in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, drawing on PATRIZIA’s wider real assets expertise.

The strategic partnership was signed during the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit (ADIS) International Roadshow at EXPO REAL 2026 in Munich by His Excellency Eng Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid, Director General of ADPIC and Hassan Awada, Senior Executive Officer, MENA at PATRIZIA.

ADPIC sits at the centre of Abu Dhabi’s capital-project programme, coordinating planning, governance, and delivery across approximately 500 projects valued at more than AED 200bn, equivalent to more than USD 56bn. The programme spans housing, transport, culture, education, social infrastructure, and the wider urban systems supporting Abu Dhabi’s long-term growth, livability, and economic competitiveness.

The agreement also reflects the wider objective of the ADIS International Roadshow by connecting Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure ecosystem with international partners that bring specialist expertise and long-term capability, while deepening engagement with Germany and Europe. The partnership establishes a framework for PATRIZIA and ADPIC to exchange international expertise and explore areas where private-sector participation can strengthen project delivery and long-term value creation. This includes dialogue around public-private partnership structures, sharing international best practice in infrastructure financing and delivery, and exploring potential investment and co-investment opportunities arising from Abu Dhabi’s capital projects programme.

The two organisations will also cooperate on market insight, benchmarking and technical studies relevant to infrastructure investment and project delivery, while exploring ways to support greater international participation, knowledge exchange, and access to specialist capability across Abu Dhabi’s ecosystem.

H.E. Eng. Maysarah Mahmoud Salim Eid, Director General of ADPIC, said: “Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure programme requires partners that bring proven international capability, market insight, and a long-term commitment. Through this partnership with PATRIZIA, we will explore how that experience can support private-sector participation, strengthen project delivery, and create long-term value. This is exactly the type of practical international cooperation the ADIS International Roadshow is designed to advance.”

PATRIZIA has worked with institutional investors and partners in Abu Dhabi for 15 years, building long-term relationships across the Emirate. The recent establishment of a permanent presence in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) marked a further step in that commitment, strengthening PATRIZIA’s ability to work with regional investors and partners and connect them with its international real assets platform.

Asoka Wöhrmann, CEO of PATRIZIA, said: “Abu Dhabi has established itself as an important centre for long-term investment and infrastructure development. Our teams have worked with clients and partners in the Emirate for the past 15 years, and our decision to establish a permanent presence in Abu Dhabi reflects the importance we attach to that relationship. We have seen first-hand the scale of its ambition and the increasingly important role that international expertise and private capital can play. This partnership creates a framework through which PATRIZIA can contribute its experience across real assets while deepening our longstanding relationships in Abu Dhabi.”

Hassan Awada, Senior Executive Officer, MENA at PATRIZIA, said: “Abu Dhabi is developing into a significant market for infrastructure and real assets investment, supported by major infrastructure pipeline and a clear focus on attracting international investment and expertise. Our partnership with ADPIC gives us an opportunity to closely support on delivering these priorities and to explore where PATRIZIA’s international investment capabilities can support the Emirate’s long-term ambitions.”

The agreement reflects PATRIZIA’s wider strategy of combining its established global real assets platform with selective international growth in markets where it has longstanding client relationships and relevant investment expertise.

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NetApp to Showcase AI-Ready Data Infrastructure as CEO George Kurian Takes the Stage at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi 2026

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NetApp® (NASDAQ: NTAP), the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, will exhibit at Ai Everything Abu Dhabi 2026, taking place on October 6 and 7 at ADNEC Centre in Abu Dhabi. The event will also feature George Kurian, Chief Executive Officer of NetApp, who will take part in a fireside chat on the Summit Stage titled, “Can AI Be Trusted? The New Architecture of Sovereign, Secure and Safe AI.” As AI moves from generating answers to taking action across the enterprise, Kurian will explore why trust must extend beyond the model to the data, infrastructure and systems AI can access, as well as the growing importance of security, data sovereignty and governance.

At the centre of NetApp’s presence will be the NetApp Platform, designed to provide enterprises an intelligent, connected, governed foundation that delivers zero-copy access to their data. Customers can quickly and confidently access, manage, and activate their data and be confident it is AI-ready and secure so they can take on the most demanding tasks and solve the most complex problems. In addition to being available on-premises, the NetApp Platform is natively embedded in the world’s largest public clouds. As organizations move AI initiatives from experimentation into production, having data that is accessible, governed and protected becomes increasingly important to scaling AI securely and efficiently.

“Abu Dhabi’s ambition to become an AI-native government reflects a broader shift we are seeing across the Middle East, where AI is rapidly moving from experimentation to large-scale deployment. But scaling AI is ultimately a data challenge. Organizations need trusted, secure and accessible data wherever it resides. The NetApp Platform provides the foundation customers need to build Intelligent Data Infrastructure that enables them to move from AI ambition to real business outcomes, securely and at scale.” said Suhail Hasanain, Senior Director and General Manager, MEA at NetApp

During the two-day event, NetApp’s regional and global experts will engage with industry leaders, partners and customers on building AI-ready infrastructure and addressing the data and infrastructure challenges that can prevent AI projects from progressing into production.

Visitors will have an opportunity to hear the latest developments from NetApp INSIGHT 2026 in Las Vegas, one of the company’s key events focused on tackling today’s biggest AI and technology challenges with intelligent data infrastructure.

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