GITEX Technology Week and the co-located startup event GITEX Future Stars welcome participants from around the world to share in a vision of a technology-enabled future. 
Currently being held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 8th-12th October, the event aim to bring frontier technologies to the forefront of the global ICT industry.
Building on its successful launch last year, GITEX Future Stars is set to be the biggest ever confluence of the global start-up ecosystem. International VC powerhouses and investors including international ‘super investor’ firm Andreessen Horowitz, Candace Johnson from SES and the European Angel Investor Network in France, and Mo El Bibany from the Rising Tide Fund in the US will be chief among venture capitalists and investors on site searching for the next-big-thing in technology.
The event will see innovative startups get funding opportunities to springboard their projects into reality throughout the week, including over AED 1.2 million in cash and prizes across a number of competitions.
In a regional first, GITEX Future Stars will also feature a dedicated corporate buyers programme in partnership with Wamda, the leading platform for entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa.
“There is no better time than now to be a part of the Middle East entrepreneurial landscape. The startup ecosystem is thriving not just with ideas, but also with innovative startups and investors looking to help businesses scale up and expand. According to the World Economic Forum, startup investments in MENA will near USD 1 billion in 2017. This combination of innovators and availability of capital, and startup accelerators, will play a key role in cultivating a new generation of companies, thereby ensuring that the Middle East, and particularly Dubai play a key role in the global innovation economy,” said Fadi Ghandour executive chairman, Wamda Group, founder, Aramex.
GITEX Future Stars has grown over 65 percent since its launch last year. MENA’s largest and most global startup event, GITEX Future Stars will see the latest in emerging technology from 700 startups that may be scouted by one of the 250 venture capitalists and investors attending the event.
With fashion, music and film taking over the startup scene, GITEX Future Stars aims to bring engaging Creative Economy content throughout the week. Benji Rogers, CEO and Founder of Dot Blockchain Media will be taking the stage to discuss the future of blockchain musicians; Patrick Grove, co-founder and group CEO of Catcha Group/co-founder and chairman of iflix, will be speaking on building a great disruptive business and; Sophia Amoruso, the founder and CEO of Girlboss Media and bestselling author who will speak on her entrepreneurial success in the fashion industry. Powered by Red Bull, the Creative Economy Program will host a series of interactive workshops, sessions and onsite installations at the show.
