15 Top Tech Entrepreneurs and Founders Building Across the Middle East in 2026

The era of importing Western software to run Middle Eastern businesses is over.

Silicon Valley playbooks fail in the Gulf. In this market, consumer apps burn cash while founders who integrate with state infrastructure and regional banking rails build real wealth.

Rather than waiting for foreign software giants to enter the market, these top tech entrepreneurs and founders built native platforms tailored specifically for local regulatory compliance, Arabic-first AI models, and regional trade corridors.

In this article, we will take a look at some of these leaders and see how their influence in the tech industry has reached the global stage.

The 15 top tech entrepreneurs and founders building the sector in the Middle East

The Middle East has built a strong base of technology companies across fintech, mobility, logistics, healthtech, and digital entertainment. Top tech entrepreneurs and founders have built emerging startups in Dubai as well as the Gulf that serve large regional markets. Their businesses also show how local needs can lead to new technology models. We have divided the list into different sectors in which the following entrepreneurs have started to gain a foothold.

Fintech and digital payments

1. Hosam Arab

• Company Founded: Tabby
• Year of Foundation: 2019
• Headquarters: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Sector: Fintech and Digital Payments

Tabby has helped make flexible payments a major part of online shopping across the Gulf. Hosam Arab co-founded the fintech with Daniil Barkalov in 2019. The platform lets shoppers split payments while giving merchants digital payment tools. Tabby has since grown into a large regional fintech with millions of users.

2. Abdulmajeed Alsukhan

• Company Founded: Tamara
• Year of Foundation: 2020
• Headquarters: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Sector: Fintech and Consumer Finance

In just a few years, Tamara grew into one of Saudi Arabia’s best-known fintech companies. Abdulmajeed Alsukhan co-founded the platform in 2020, building its core business around flexible payments for shoppers and merchants. The company became Saudi Arabia’s first homegrown fintech unicorn. Its growth also reflects the rapid expansion of digital finance in the country.

3. Ashraf Sabry

• Company Founded: Fawry
• Year of Foundation: 2008
• Headquarters: Cairo, Egypt
• Sector: Fintech and Digital Payments

Long before digital payments became a major startup category, Ashraf Sabry was building Fawry in Egypt. Founded in 2008, the company created a large electronic payments network for consumers and businesses. Fawry later listed on the Egyptian Exchange and became one of the country’s leading payment companies. Sabry has spent more than a decade building digital finance infrastructure in Egypt.

Mobility and transportation

4. Mudassir Sheikha

• Company Founded: Careem
• Year of Foundation: 2012
• Headquarters: Dubai, UAE
• Sector: Mobility and Super Apps

Mudassir Sheikha co-founded Careem in 2012 and helped turn a ride-hailing startup into a major technology company. Careem later added services such as food delivery and payments, expanding beyond its original transport business. The company became the region’s first unicorn before Uber acquired it for $3.1 billion in 2020. Sheikha’s work remains a major part of the region’s startup success story.

5. Mostafa Kandil

• Company Founded: Swvl
• Year of Foundation: 2017
• Headquarters: Dubai, UAE; founded in Cairo, Egypt
• Sector: Mobility and Transportation Technology

Swvl built its business around a simple problem: many cities need more flexible and affordable ways to move people. Mostafa Kandil co-founded the company in Cairo in 2017 and helped take its shared transport model into international markets. Swvl later became a Nasdaq-listed company. That move put the Egyptian-founded startup on the global technology map.

Logistics and freight technology

6. Omar Hagrass

• Company Founded: Trella
• Year of Foundation: 2019
• Headquarters: Cairo, Egypt
• Sector: Logistics and Freight Technology

A shortage of reliable freight capacity can slow down entire supply chains. Trella uses technology to connect businesses that need transportation with truck operators. Omar Hagrass and Ali El Atrash co-founded the company in 2019 and built its platform around this gap. Trella has since worked with major businesses and expanded its digital freight services.

7. Gaurav Biswas

• Company Founded: TruKKer
• Year of Foundation: 2016
• Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Sector: Logistics and Digital Freight

TruKKer uses a digital network to connect businesses with trucks and manage freight movement. Gaurav Biswas founded the company in 2016 and expanded the platform across markets including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt. Its network now covers a large number of trucks and enterprise customers. The company has become a notable technology player in the region’s logistics sector.

8. Idriss Al Rifai

• Company Founded: Fetchr
• Year of Foundation: 2012
• Headquarters: Dubai, UAE
• Sector: Logistics and Last Mile Delivery

Delivering a package can become difficult when an address does not follow a standard street system. Fetchr used smartphone GPS technology to tackle that problem. Idriss Al Rifai founded the company in 2012, and the model attracted backing from major international investors. Although Fetchr later ceased operations, its approach became an early example for top tech entrepreneurs and founders solving a local logistics problem with technology.

Food tech

9. Mohamad Ballout

• Company Founded: Kitopi
• Year of Foundation: 2018
• Headquarters: Dubai, UAE
• Sector: Food Tech and Cloud Kitchens

Cloud kitchens changed how some restaurant brands think about expansion. Kitopi became an early regional leader in this model by combining kitchen operations with technology. Mohamad Ballout co-founded the company in Dubai in 2018. Kitopi went on to expand across several markets and became one of the UAE’s notable unicorns.

Health tech

10. Amir Barsoum

• Company Founded: Vezeeta
• Year of Foundation: 2012
• Headquarters: Cairo, Egypt
• Sector: Health Tech

Booking a medical appointment became easier for many patients through Vezeeta’s digital platform. Amir Barsoum founded the company in 2012, connecting patients with doctors and healthcare providers online. The service grew beyond Egypt into Saudi Arabia and other MENA markets. Vezeeta has since become one of the region’s better-known healthtech businesses.

Digital entertainment

11. Eddy Maroun and Elie Habib

• Company Founded: Anghami
• Year of Foundation: 2012
• Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, UAE; founded in Beirut, Lebanon
• Sector: Music Streaming and Digital Entertainment

Next on this list of top tech entrepreneurs and founders is Elie Habib. Arabic music found a major digital platform in Anghami. Elie Habib founded the company in Beirut in 2012 and built a service around Arabic and international music. Anghami later expanded across MENA and reached the US public market through a Nasdaq listing in 2022. The company showed how regional content could support a large technology business.

B2B commerce and retail tech

12. Talha Ansari

• Company Founded: Retailo
• Year of Foundation: 2020
• Headquarters: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Sector: B2B Commerce and Retail Tech

Small retailers form a large part of the region’s commerce sector, yet many still rely on traditional supply chains. Retailo set out to digitize that process. Talha Ansari, Wahaj Ahmed, and Mohammad Nowkhaiz launched the company in 2020 after working at Careem. Its platform helps retailers source products and manage their supply needs across markets such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Proptech

13. Amira Sajwani

• Company Founded: PRYPCO
• Year of Foundation: 2022
• Headquarters: Dubai, UAE
• Sector: PropTech and Real Estate

Real estate is one of Dubai’s biggest industries, and PRYPCO brings technology into several parts of the property process. Amira Sajwani founded the company in 2022, with a focus on digital property services and investment. PRYPCO later partnered with the Dubai Land Department on property tokenization. That work has placed the company at the intersection of real estate and blockchain technology.

Blockchain and digital assets

14. Raouf Ben Har

• Company Founded: Andalusia Labs
• Year of Foundation: 2021
• Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Sector: Blockchain and Digital Asset Infrastructure

The growth of digital assets has created demand for higher-risk and security tools. Andalusia Labs builds infrastructure for institutions working with blockchain and digital assets. Raouf Ben Har co-founded the company in 2021, and the business reached a $1 billion valuation within months of its Series A. Its growth highlights the demand for institutional technology in the digital asset sector.

Edtech

15. Dr. Ihab Fikry

• Company Founded: Almentor
• Year of Foundation: 2016
• Headquarters: Dubai, UAE
• Sector: EdTech and Online Learning

More than 400 million people speak Arabic, creating a large market for Arabic language digital education. Almentor was built to serve that audience with online courses across business, technology, management, and other fields. Last on this list of top tech entrepreneurs and founders, Dr. Ihab Fikry founded the platform in 2016 and grew it into one of the region’s largest Arabic e-learning businesses. Its focus on local language content gives Arabic-speaking learners access to a wide range of professional courses.

The current state of the Middle East’s tech sector

The Middle East’s technology sector has moved into a new phase. Governments are investing in digital infrastructure, AI, cloud systems, and advanced connectivity, while startups are building businesses across fintech, logistics, healthtech, and other fields. Saudi Arabia alone reports more than 1,050 technology startups established over the past four years, with venture-backed startups raising $2.4 billion. This has led to the city slowly becoming a business hub, leading to many conferences and business events in Dubai.

This growth has also increased the need for stronger links between top tech entrepreneurs and founders, alongside investors, business leaders, and technology experts. Platforms such as NEXT Conclave 2026 in Dubai reflect that shift. The two-day business and leadership summit brings together entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, policymakers, and senior business leaders to discuss technology, investment, and new business opportunities.

Conclusion:

The evolution of technology across the Gulf Cooperation Council proves that regional dominance belongs to founders who solve fundamental, operational problems. The top tech entrepreneurs and founders have created high-value software platforms that external players cannot easily replicate.

Their growth playbooks highlight a massive structural pivot across Middle Eastern venture capital. The technology that they provide and deploy today is establishing how enterprise business will be conducted across the Gulf for the next decade.

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