Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy has announced five new features for Expand North Star 2025.
The landmark event, organised by Dubai World Trade Centre and hosted by Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, celebrates its 10th anniversary at Dubai Harbour from October 12–15.
The new features include ScaleX, the Consumer Tech Zone, North Star Green Impact, the Deeptech MEA Summit, and the Digital Assets Forum.
Expand North Star 2025 in Dubai
Together they are designed to strengthen Expand North Star’s role as the world’s largest gathering of startups and investors, offering unparalleled opportunities for growth, funding, and collaboration.
- ScaleX: The official growth programme of Expand North Star 2025, spotlighting 100 of the world’s fastest-growing tech companies. The curated market access programme blends remote preparation with in-person exposure at the event, connecting scaleups with investors and strategic partners to accelerate their international expansion
- Consumer Tech Zone: The new Consumer Tech Zone will serve as a launchpad for startups developing next-generation AR/VR hardware, smart health devices, lifestyle technology, and connected products. Backed by accelerators and government innovation programmes, these founders represent the cutting edge of consumer technology
- North Star Green Impact: Green innovation takes centre stage with North Star Green Impact, a new sustainability-focused zone showcasing startups in clean energy, circular economy, water tech, and sustainable mobility. The launch comes as MENA’s climate-tech ecosystem gains momentum, supported by a 40 per cent annual increase in venture capital investment during 2023
- Deeptech MEA Summit: A gathering of researchers, entrepreneurs, government leaders, and technology pioneers to explore breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and robotics. The summit aims to accelerate deep technology adoption across the Middle East and Africa
- Digital Assets Forum: This new forum will bring together global experts to examine the transformations reshaping financial infrastructure — from central bank digital currencies and tokenised assets to AI-powered risk management
The 10th anniversary edition also welcomes back Expand North Star’s most popular platforms. The Supernova Challenge 2.0, the world’s largest startup pitch competition, will feature a $200,000 prize pool. The Corporate Arena returns to connect enterprise leaders with founders and investors, while the Tech Transfer Innovation Forum continues bridging research and business.
Specialised events also return, including Marketing Mania, the dedicated MarTech conference, and youth-focused platforms such as YouthX Unipreneur and Emaratipreneur.
Networking opportunities will extend beyond the daytime sessions through North Star by Night, a series of evening mixers and events.
Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy said these additions reinforce its commitment to advancing the emirate’s digital economy in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33). Expand North Star continues to play a vital role in establishing Dubai as a global hub for innovation and technology, and in driving long-term economic growth.
