Techstars joins Emirates NBD innovation drive

By Milan Rojan

Emirates NBD has partnered with Techstars to accelerate AI and FinTech innovation across the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT), introducing an enterprise-focused model designed to help startups deploy solutions within the bank’s operations.

The partnership has moved beyond traditional accelerator programmes by introducing an “Acceleration-to-Enterprise” model, enabling high-growth AI and FinTech startups to integrate their solutions directly into Emirates NBD’s banking ecosystem. The initiative will focus on compliance, wealth management, SME banking and capital markets.

David Cohen, CEO of Techstars, said: “Techstars has always been about helping founders go faster. By partnering with a proactive, AI-first institution like Emirates NBD, we are giving our FinTech and AI founders a front-row seat to one of the most dynamic financial markets in the world.”

The collaboration has combined Techstars’ global network of more than 11,000 founders with Emirates NBD’s AI capabilities, which currently support more than 50 active use cases. Selected startups will gain access to the bank’s cloud-native infrastructure to pilot enterprise-grade AI and FinTech solutions and accelerate commercial deployment.

Miguel Rio Tinto, Group Chief Digital and Information Officer at Emirates NBD, said: “With Dubai now home to nearly 60% of GCC FinTech companies, we are pleased to partner with Techstars to tap into and capture FinTech’s new wave of innovation in agentic finance. Leveraging Emirates NBD’s regional footprint and digital capabilities, we are providing selected AI and FinTech startups with a direct pathway into enterprise banking.”

The initiative has supported Emirates NBD’s broader digital transformation strategy and aligns with the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which aims to position Dubai among the world’s top four global financial centres by 2033. It follows the bank’s recent top ranking in the inaugural Evident AI Index for Banks – Middle East and Africa.