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Dubai

Last meet: Dubai Startup Meetup earlier

Harsha Bhurani Utpal Vaishnav Viraj Rajani Siddharth Patel

What's already happened

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fri
13
feb
Dubai Startup Meetup
Feb 13, 2026 · Shunya Ekai Technologies Dubai, D55-PBU - Me'aisem First - Dubai Production City - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
Viraj Rajani Utpal Vaishnav Siddharth Patel Viraj, Utpal + 2 went
mon
1
dec
eChai's Dubai Startup Mixer
Dec 1, 2025 · Dubai
fri
11
jul
Dubai Startup Mixer
<div>Join us on July 11, Friday, for an open, casual meetup of founders and startup folks in Dubai.<br><br></div><div>The eChai Startup Social is a simple idea — show up, grab a coffee or your drink of choice, and connect with people who are building, investing, or exploring what’s next. There’s no agenda, no stage — just real conversations in a relaxed setting.<br><br></div><div>You pay for what you order, and take away whatever the conversation brings.<br><br></div><div>You might meet early-stage founders, team members, investors, or operators — or simply someone on a similar journey. Every city brings its own mix, and every gathering is its own vibe.</div>
Jul 11, 2025 · Filli Cafe - Business Bay, Bay Avenue - Dubai - United Arab Emirates, · Dubai
thu
15
may
Startup Touchdown Dubai – Plug into Dubai’s Startup Ecosystem
<div>Startup Touchdown Dubai is where global ambition meets Dubai’s startup momentum.<br><br></div><div>Co-hosted by eChai Ventures and Shunya Ekai Technologies, this meetup features a candid panel with founders and operators building across the region — followed by open networking with fellow builders, investors, and ecosystem enablers.<br><br></div><div>Whether you're new to the city or scaling your next big thing, this is your chance to plug into Dubai’s founder network, exchange stories, and spark real collaborations.</div>
May 15, 2025 · Shunya Ekai Technologies, D55-PBU - Dubai Production City - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
Viraj Rajani Nadeem Jafri Sahil Shah Viraj, Nadeem + 4 went
fri
31
jan
Dubai Startup Meetup
<div>Join us for the Dubai Startup Meetup on 31st Jan, Friday!&nbsp;<br><br>Connect with fellow entrepreneurs, share insights, and collaborate on innovative ideas. This event is a fantastic opportunity to expand your network and grow your startup.<br><br></div><div>Expect engaging discussions, inspiring stories, and valuable networking. Whether you're a seasoned founder or just starting, you'll find immense value in this meetup.&nbsp;</div>
Jan 31, 2025 · MSBC Technologies, 702, Emaar Square 6, Burj Khalifa Community, Downtown, Dubai, UAE. · Dubai
Viraj Rajani H Sahil Shah Viraj, Hardik + 2 went
fri
20
sep
The Dubai Startup Growth Forum
<div>Join us on September 20th, Friday, in Dubai for an engaging eChai event featuring a candid panel with growth stage founders. Gain valuable insights into their journeys, challenges, and successes in scaling their startups.<br><br></div><div>This is a unique opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, ask questions, and connect with like-minded individuals. Whether you're a budding entrepr</div>
Sep 20, 2024 · HMMBiz Web Solutions - UAE, Tower, I-Rise - C2, 29th Floor - Barsha Heights - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
H Hardik + 2 went
fri
23
feb
Dubai Startup Meetup
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the small curated gathering of founders and startups folks on 23rd February, Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Feb 23, 2024 · Tea Post, Under Spinneys Supermarket Tower, Mohammed Ibrahim Tower - Shop 24 - Jumeirah Lake Towers - JLT Cluster J - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
1 went
fri
19
jan
Dubai Startup Meetup
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the small curated gathering of founders and startups folks on 19th January, Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Jan 19, 2024 · Tea Post, Under Spinneys Supermarket Tower, Mohammed Ibrahim Tower - Shop 24 - Jumeirah Lake Towers - JLT Cluster J - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
sat
7
oct
Abu Dhabi Startup Meetup
<div>Small Group. Candid Conversations. Startup Folks.<br><br>This will be smaller gathering of founders and startup folks to connect, share and collaborate.</div>
Oct 7, 2023 · Cafe Palmier, F9W8+H53 - Khalifa Bin Zayed Street (Khalifa Street) - Al Danah - Zone 1 - Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
1 went
fri
29
sep
Dubai Startup Meetup
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the small curated gathering of founders and startups folks on 29th Sept, Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Sep 29, 2023 · 2603, The Citadel Tower, 57M6+J96 - Marasi Dr - Business Bay - Dubai, UAE. · Dubai
1 went
fri
15
sep
Dubai Startup Meetup
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the small curated gathering of founders and startups folks on 15th Sept, Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Sep 15, 2023 · MSBC Technologies, 702, Emaar Square 6, Burj Khalifa Community, Downtown, Dubai, UAE. · Dubai
Viraj Rajani Rushi Patel Siddharth Patel Viraj, Rushi + 3 went
sat
29
jul
Dubai Startup Meetup
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the small gathering of founders and startups folks on 29th July, Saturday from 11 am to 1 pm.
Jul 29, 2023 · Dubai
1 went
thu
22
jun
eChai Startup Social in Dubai
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the small gathering of founders and startups folks on 22nd June, Thursday from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Jun 22, 2023 · (Exact venue will be announced soon) · Dubai
fri
14
oct
Startup Growth Networking Meetup in Dubai
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the Startup Growth Networking Meetup in Dubai with growth stage founders and leaders on 14th October, Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Oct 14, 2022 · Jobetter Space, Empire Heights Tower B - 8th floor - Business Bay - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
3 went
fri
19
aug
Startup Growth Networking Meetup in Dubai
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the Startup Growth Networking Meetup in Dubai with growth stage founders and leaders on 19th August, Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Aug 19, 2022 · Jobetter Space, Empire Heights Tower B - 8th floor - Business Bay - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
3 went
fri
12
aug
Startup Growth Networking Meetup in Dubai
eChai Ventures Dubai will be hosting the Startup Growth Networking Meetup in Dubai with growth stage founders and leaders on 12th August, Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm.
Aug 12, 2022 · Jobetter Space, Empire Heights Tower B - 8th floor - Business Bay - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. · Dubai
4 went

People from Dubai on the network, plus folks from elsewhere who've shown up at an event here.

Utpal Vaishnav
Ahmedabad
Utpal Vaishnav
Founder · Upsquare
Attended events in Dubai

Founder, Bootstrapped and Profitable, backing Angel and Syndicate / scout, in Fintech + SaaS + Deeptech.

Building

Transforming my legacy tech business, Upsquare Technologies, into a Lab that does experiments with Digital & Physical AI, Robotics, Reusable Systems, models & architectures.

Hoping to meet
  • Startups to invest in
  • Bootstrapped, profitable founders
  • Engineering leaders / CTOs
  • Product leaders
  • Growth & marketing leaders
  • Others in my exact role to swap notes with
  • Founders & operators in my city
D
Dubai
Dr. V Francis John
CEO, Ztartup
From Dubai
Building

First Private Entity to be ratified as a "Multi-Sector Tech Business Incubator/Accelerator" in Dubai, UAE.

Inspired by https://www.hi2.ae

Approved by https://www.sme.ae

Licensed by https://www.dubaided.gov.ae

AND

Driven by https://www.murgency.com

In Partnership with https://www.peoplefirst.com

POWERING

https://www.Zivanza.org 
https://www.MMCIVF.com
https://www.ZecondZ.com
https://www.Zafaari.com
https://www.AirportAssist.com
https://www.davinchisureshcreations.com
https://www.arabianworldrecords.com

...

MEMBER : DIGITAL GOVERNMENT SOCIETY
Global, Multi-Disciplinary Organization of scholars & practitioners interested in development & impacts of digital government. Fosters use of information & technology to support & improve public policies & government operations, engage citizens & provide comprehensive & timely government services. 

MEMBER : GOVERNMENT BLOCKCHAIN ASSOCIATION
World Body dedicated to robust, ethical & efficient adoption of blockchain based solutions by governmental organizations, globally.

MEMBER : BLOCKCHAIN COUNCIL 
Global Authoritative Group of subject experts & enthusiasts who are evangelizing the Blockchain Research & Development, Use Cases & Products & Knowledge for a better world. 

MEMBER : WELCOME AI
Global Artificial Intelligence Technologies aggregated in one central place to make it easier for companies to learn about AI companies looking to disrupt their industry. 

MEMBER : IEEE
World's largest Technical Professional Organization for the advancement of Technology 

MEMBER : PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE
World’s leading Project Management Organization with over 500,000 Global Members & over 300 Local Chapters Internationally.

MEMBER : INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATION (ILA)
Global Network for those who study, teach & practice leadership & bringing together thousands of leadership professionals from multiple sectors, disciplines, professions, cultures, & generations – to advance leadership knowledge & practice for a better world.

MEMBER : SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY
Preparing Global Leaders & Organizations for Future and to see beyond disruption to opportunity > Embrace Abundance > Think 10x > Learn to design for scalable impact

MEMBER : OPENEXO
Global Transformation Ecosystem with more than 1,000 coaches, investors, consultants & innovation specialists helping organizations, institutions & people unlock abundance to change the world.

C
Dubai
Chintan Sareen
Founder, Shunya Ekai Technologies
From Dubai
Building

Chintan Sareen has a 15 years experience in films, design and technology. Specialising in Developing meaningful and innovative technology product across various domains ranging from last mile, freight, recycling, iOT based instant vehicle leasing, skill training, e-learning, utility services to on demand entertainment platforms .

Chintan is Currently the CEO and Founder of Shunya Ekai Technologies which specialises in developing mobile/web apps and also expertises in building new age IOT Devices and autonomous Mobility Bots to automate operations, solve challenges across various industries and improve human efficiency and lifestyle. 

He has been associated with the startup ecosystem in India since early 2014, co founded 4 startups and is  Partner / Investor / Board Member in 6 startups. He has also been  mentoring and guiding early stage start-ups regularly.

Chintan has also headed various political campaign’s creative and strategy for few of the  major political parties and politicians in India.

He spent early 8 years of  career in teaching animation and Visual effects.

previously Two of his short films were screened at Cannes Film Festival in the year 2011 and 2012. He also won the prestigious Digicon award (Japan) and a nomination at Asia Image Apollo Awards (Singapore) . After completing my education in the US,He has explored wide and far of the creative and technology world. He has worked as a designer, educator, photographer, filmmaker and editor, digital media strategist and Product Developer.

M
Dubai
Matthew Francis
Chief Strategy and Investment Officer, NowNow
From Dubai
Building

A twenty year career spanning investment banking, technology, and startups in San Francisco and Dubai.  Mr. Francis spent the first half of his career on Wall Street working at Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Bank of America Securities.  The latter half was spent working at Oracle in Silicon Valley, Careem in Dubai, and NowNow Digital Systems in Lagos, Nigeria.  He has extensive experience in investments, sales, and executive leadership.  His role at NowNow is to construct a corporate strategy that will help not only the company succeed, but provide the best platform possible for its customers.  He's also leading the fundraising efforts.

Mr. Francis has a BA in economics from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, a MBA from the University of San Diego, and has studied at Cambridge University in the UK and London School of Economics.

A
Dubai
Ashwin Joshi
Head, IIMA Dubai Branch
From Dubai
Building

Heads the Dubai Branch of IIM Ahmedabad with a focus on Executive Education since 2019. 

• Ashwin has over 19 years of multidisciplinary experience across various domains including executive education, corporate training and development, pre-seed and seed investing, startup acceleration, innovation ecosystems and entrepreneurship. 

• Over the past decade, majority of Ashwin’s focus has been in designing and operationalizing high quality capability development initiatives, platforms and programmes. He has extensively worked in partnership with corporates, corporate CSRs, central government ministries, state governments, multilateral organizations and other higher education institutions in India on these projects. 

• Managed and led various programs including startup accelerators, incubation programs, bootcamps, certification programs, evangelization programs, hackathons, national business idea competitions, higher education programs across offline, online, blended and hybrid learning environments. 

• Co-authored Handbook for Non-Profit Incubation Managers in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission and a German Multilateral Organization. 

• Past experience includes leading pre-investment and ecosystem development function at CIIE (2013 – 2018), founding team member of a US based startup (2012) and co-founder of a boutique graphic design firm (2004-2010). 

• Mentors early-stage founders in value proposition design, business model and unit economics. • MBA from University of Texas at Dallas (2011), Bachelor of Fine Art, University of Mumbai (2004).

A
Dubai
Avneet Kohli
Partner, Encubay
From Dubai
Building

Hi! I’m Avneet Kohli, an ICF-credentialed Vision & Communication Coach. 

Through self-development learning programs and personalized coaching, I help my clients actualize their life Vision and accelerate their journey to success.

I spent nearly a decade in Mumbai honing my public speaking skills by presenting nearly 400 live events for organizations such as Samsung, Apple, Amazon, Google, L’Oreal, and The Trump Organisation to name a few. My passion for learning and development and tryst with mental health led me to become a human development junkie and a credentialed coach. 

Shall I tell you a secret? 

I come alive when I nudge ambitious entrepreneurs and professionals to find clarity and take strategic action on their dreams. 

I'm also the, 

📌 Middle East Ambassador for the The Power Business School, a one-of-a-kind digital business school where you learn from inspiring leaders like the founders of Youtube, Netflix, Tesla, and Waze

📌 Partner at diversity focussed startup network, Encubay where I assist female founders on their growth journey by providing them with access to mentorship, premium networks, and fundraising assistance. 


Reach out to me for -

- Devising workshops/ programs on soft skills, well-being, and employee engagement topics 
- 1-1 coaching for ambitious professionals and entrepreneurs - Book your Free 20-minute call with me to understand how a coach can transform your life, on https://calendly.com/ak--108/20min
- Create content for your Edtech platform
- Be a Speaker at your event
- Partner with the Encubay startup network to devise 
socio business initiatives 

You can learn more about me on www.avneetkohli.com and connect with me at [email protected].

H
Dubai
Hardik Manwani
Co-Founder & CTO, Mind Alcove
From Dubai
Building

Hardik is a tech entrepreneur and internet consultant. The curiosity to know about the internet and the passion for doing something till the end has today led Hardik to become the founder of two tech startups.

The ‘Never Say Never’ attitude helped Hardik to discover new things and come across new people. That is why Hardik has a diversified clientele who are in the field of Music, News, Finance, Construction, Social Networking, Films and the list is still expanding...

So if you want a web agency who not only listens to every word of yours very patiently but also give you something more than what you ask for; hit the ‘Contact’ button and get in touch with Hardik.

..

Mind Alcove: We enable people to become emotionally fit - Experience Journaling and Mood Tracking - Meet us on iOS or Playstore

T
Dubai
Tarun Mangukiya
Co-Founder, Copperx · Iconscout
From Dubai
Building

Receive international payments with 0% fees

I am passionate about coding, technology, and startups.

I am focused on helping web3 businesses at Copperx by optimizing their payment processing through advanced tooling, seamless integrations, and robust infrastructure.

Previously, I co-founded Iconscout, a highly successful design resources marketplace featuring over 7 million assets, which has been embraced by more than 2 million users. In 2021, the company was acquired by LottieFiles. Throughout my career, I have collaborated with renowned web3 brands such as Polygon, Merkle Science, Timeswap, and Scallop, playing a pivotal role in the creation and enhancement of their products and websites.

H
Dubai
Hussam Mohsineh
Founder, AlAthir Cloud
From Dubai
Building

Serial Entrepreneur | Forbes 30 Under 30 (2020) | Young Arab Leader | Ex-Microsoft Reactor lead for Middle East & Africa 

Hussam is a serial entrepreneur. For over a decade, he worked on high-impact capacity-building initiatives and programs to enable youth, developers, and founders. Most recently, he led the Microsoft Reactor across the Middle East & Africa, the developers and founders hub, and the home to Microsoft for Startups. 

Hussam is recognized by leading organizations and governments locally and internationally. He was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his regional contributions to Education, and was named a Changemaker by Young Arab Leaders.

Across eChai

Founders to meet

Founders from across eChai worth a hello, beyond Dubai.

Nikita Lalwani
Ahmedabad
Nikita Lalwani
Founder & First Bicycle Mayor from India · Crooze Fitness App

Founder, Pre-seed, in Healthtech.

Building

Fitness community of 37K users, making fitness fun through Rewards, Challenges, and National Fitness Leagues backed by DST, IT Ministry, IIMA Ventures, i-Hub & Mahindra Rise.

Now pivoting to B2B2C Corporate Fitness Leagues and urgently looking for a CTO / Tech Co-founder.

Hoping to meet
  • Angel / seed investors for my startup
  • Intros to paying customers
  • A co-founder
  • Founders past $1M ARR
  • Engineering leaders / CTOs
  • Growth & marketing leaders
  • Co-founder
  • Fundraising
  • Distribution
Anuj Dalal
Ahmedabad
Anuj Dalal
Founder & CEO · Zestard

Engineer / builder and Educator / mentor, Seed and Profitable, backing Pre-seed / seed and Strategic / corporate, in SaaS + D2C / consumer + E-commerce / retail.

Hoping to meet
  • A co-founder
  • Senior hires for my team
  • A startup role I would love, at any kind
  • Growth & marketing leaders
  • Founders & operators in my city
Anil Motwani
Ahmedabad
Anil Motwani
CEO & Founder · ATOA Technologies

Founder and Agency, Bootstrapped and Profitable, backing Pre-seed / seed and Growth, in B2B / enterprise + AI/ML + Marketplace.

Building Building technology platforms and growth systems for businesses across industries. Currently focused on helping founders create more predictable sales processes, streamline operations, and scale without everything depending on them.
Hoping to meet
  • Founders solving interesting business problems
  • Conversations around growth, sales, and scaling
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