The UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) Council has officially opened applications for the second edition of the UAE-India Start-Up Series 2.0, expanding one of the largest bilateral startup initiatives between the two countries. Designed to help high-potential Indian startups scale internationally through Abu Dhabi, the programme offers founders access to investors, corporate partners, mentors, and market-entry support.
Building on the success of its inaugural edition, the latest cohort aims to strengthen the growing India-UAE innovation corridor while creating new opportunities for startups seeking regional and global expansion.
Applications for Start-Up Series 2.0 open on July 15, 2026, with startups across India invited to participate in a structured selection process. The programme is jointly led by the UAE-India CEPA Council and supported by Hub71, Abu Dhabi's global technology ecosystem.
Start-Up Series is designed as an international market-access platform. Selected startups will gain opportunities to connect with venture capital firms, corporate customers, regulators, and government-backed innovation networks while exploring Abu Dhabi as a regional headquarters for expansion across the Middle East and global markets.
The initiative targets startups operating in sectors aligned with Abu Dhabi's economic diversification strategy, including HealthTech, FinTech, ClimateTech, Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Manufacturing, and other emerging technology industries.
The program is back after an exceptional debut that has received over 10,000 applications from entrepreneurs in India, which makes it one of India's biggest bilateral start-up programs. A number of start-ups picked in the first batch of this program have been able to enroll in Access and Immersion programs offered by Hub71.
This edition of the program adopts a stricter evaluation process for the founders based on innovation, commercial viability, scalability, and internationalization of the company. In the application process, once the start-ups have applied throughout the country, they will pitch their expansion plans to the jury panel made up of investors, government officials, and industry experts from both countries.
Winners from this edition of the program will be awarded an expanded package including incubation services and advice on setting up operations in the UAE.
The Start-Up Series has widened the scope of cooperation between two nations from trade to innovation, entrepreneurship, investment, and tech cooperation and also intensified efforts that promote cross-border business operations among startups, SMEs, and technology enterprises.
The key role in such processes belongs to Hub71, which allows startups to get funding, partnerships, talent, and one of the most rapidly developing technology ecosystems in the Middle East region. For the founders from India, Abu Dhabi becomes a key entry point for Gulf, African, and European markets as well as an attractive environment for expanding their tech business.
The industry analysts note that the program is also a manifestation of growing interest among investors in Indian startups willing to develop on the international level.
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Start-Up Series 2.0 is one example of this growing importance of startup collaboration as a crucial pillar of India-UAE economic relationship. It is designed not only to help startups raise funds, but also to develop ecosystem through the connection of entrepreneurs with the world’s investors, enterprise customers, and government innovations programs.
Under the conditions of intensifying cooperation between two countries within the framework of CEPA, projects such as Start-Up Series will help the Indian startups grow internationally, and, at the same time, will consolidate the status of Abu Dhabi as a leading country for technology expansion.