The map·All programmes·Government programmesالعربيةBETA

Government programmes in the GCC

52 government programmes across the Gulf — 14 in Saudi Arabia, 10 in the UAE, 8 in Qatar, 8 in Kuwait, 7 in Oman, 5 in Bahrain — 28 taking applications today. What you get, who can apply, what it costs, each one checked against its own website.

See all 52 on the map, filtered to government programmes.

Open the map →
Programmes
52
checked against their own sites
Apply form
29
apply straight from the page
No equity
29
per their own cost line
Open now
5
no published deadline ahead
All · 403Accelerators & incubators · 69VC funds & investors · 132Grants & prizes · 30Government programmes · 52Angel networks · 20Corporate VCs · 45State equity · 7Loans & guarantees · 23Funds of funds · 5Support programmes · 20

Government programmes in Saudi Arabia (KSA) · 14 →

CMA FinTech Lab (ExPermit)

Government · Saudi Arabia · Open
Regulatory permission to test products live; no funding provided.
No equity — service or permission
—

KAUST University

Government · Saudi Arabia · Open
R&D grants (NextEra), TAQADAM non-dilutive funding up to $140K, KIV equity $100K–$700K.
Equity or convertible note
—

MCIT — Ministry of Communications

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Access to CODE programmes: Tech Founders, incubation and CODE Nine 66.
Terms not published
—

MISA — Ministry of Investment

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Investor registration, entrepreneur registration and RHQ programme access.
No equity — service or permission
—

Premium Residency — Entrepreneur Track

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Residency for founders with a round of SAR 400K+ (20% share) or SAR 15M+ (10% share).
No equity — one-time fee SAR 4,000
—

SAMA FinTech Sandbox

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Regulatory permission to test fintech and insurtech products.
No equity — service or permission
—

SHIFT Innovation Center Riyadh

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Innovation hub with the Digi X-Lab data and AI facility.
No equity — service or permission
—

Cloud Computing SEZ

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
CST-supervised zone: onboarding support and incentives for data centres nationwide.
No equity — service or permission
—

Cybersecurity Accelerator (National Cybersecurity Authority)

Government · Saudi Arabia · Closed
Government accelerator for cybersecurity startups; financial support is a goal.
Terms not published
—

MEWA

Government · Saudi Arabia · Closed
Mentorship, access to funding and technical assistance.
Terms not published
—

Monsha'at

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Loan guarantees and programme support for SMEs.
Terms not published
—

PIF Startup Ecosystem

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Not a direct-application fund — invests in funds rather than startups.
Indirect — invests in funds, not startups
—

SDAIA

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Saudi AI authority; runs the GAIA generative AI accelerator.
Terms not published
—

Tourism Development Fund (TDF)

Government · Saudi Arabia · Active
Tourism fund: MSME loans via partner banks and lenders, plus a non-financial accelerator.
Loans — pricing not published
—

See these 14 government programmes in Saudi Arabia on the map →

Government programmes in the UAE · 10 →

Dubai Future Foundation

Government · UAE · Closed
Programme support and co-creation opportunities.
Terms not published
—

Masdar City Free Zone

Government · UAE · Active
100% foreign ownership free-zone setup.
No equity — service or permission
—

twofour54

Government · UAE · Active
Licence-fee waivers and production-rebate access.
No equity — service or permission
—

UAE Golden Visa — Entrepreneur

Government · UAE · Active
5-year renewable residency for entrepreneurs with a qualifying project.
No equity — residency permission
—

ADGM

Government · UAE · Active
A RegLab regulatory sandbox; not a funding programme.
No equity — service or permission
—

ADIO

Government · UAE · Active
Project-dependent incentive packages.
Equity possible
—

Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority (UAE)

Government · UAE · Active
National data, AI and digital-government body; not a funder.
Terms not published
—

CBUAE FinTech Sandbox

Government · UAE · Active
Regulatory permission to test fintech products.
No equity — service or permission
—

DIFC

Government · UAE · Active
Financial free zone with its own regulator, courts and flexible structures; not a funder.
No equity — service or permission
—

DisruptAD (ADQ)

Government · UAE · Active
ADQ venture platform managing the AED 535M Ventures Fund (Ghadan 21).
Equity
—

See these 10 government programmes in the UAE on the map →

Government programmes in Qatar · 8 →

Invest Qatar

Government · Qatar · Active
FDI facilitation, stakeholder introductions and direct pitching to VC funds via Gateway.
No equity — service or permission
—

Media City Qatar

Government · Qatar · Open
Gaming and screen incentive programmes; licensing with 100% foreign ownership.
No equity — incentives for licensed entities
—

Qatar Development Bank

Government · Qatar · Active
Backing via Startup Qatar, targeting a QAR 1 billion portfolio by 2030.
Terms not published
—

Qatar Financial Centre (QFC)

Government · Qatar · Active
Business licensing; Web Summit Qatar 2026 incentives waive fees for the first three years.
No equity — service or permission
—

Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZ)

Government · Qatar · Active
Free zone investment incentives and benefits.
No equity — service or permission
—

QCB FinTech Regulatory Sandbox

Government · Qatar · Active
Live testing of fintech under QCB supervision for up to 12 months; Express 3–6 months.
No equity — service or permission
—

QFC Digital Assets Lab

Government · Qatar · Open
Regulatory pathway to QFC licences; no funding stated.
No equity — regulatory pathway
—

Startup Qatar

Government · Qatar · Active
Invest Qatar platform routing founders to the QDB-powered Investment Program.
Terms not published
—

See these 8 government programmes in Qatar on the map →

Government programmes in Kuwait · 8 →

CBK Wolooj Innovation Hub

Government · Kuwait · Active
R&D programme support for fintech innovation projects.
No equity — programme support
—

CBK Wolooj Regulatory Sandbox

Government · Kuwait · Active
Regulatory permission to test fintech products live; no funding provided.
No equity — service or permission
—

KDIPA

Government · Kuwait · Active
Up to 100% foreign ownership and up to a 10-year tax holiday for investors.
No equity — service or permission
—

CBK Digital Banking Guidelines

Government · Kuwait · Closed
Licensing guidelines for digital banks (since 2022).
Terms not published
—

CMA FinTech Unit (Module 19)

Government · Kuwait · Active
Regulatory permission to operate as a securities crowdfunding platform or fintech.
No equity — service or permission
—

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA)

Government · Kuwait · Active
Manages sovereign capital; not a direct-application funder.
Terms not published
—

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

Government · Kuwait · Active
Company setup fees.
No equity — service or permission
—

NTEC

Government · Kuwait · Active
KWD 100M (~$350M) capital deployed via government-backed VC and projects.
Terms not published
—

See these 8 government programmes in Kuwait on the map →

Government programmes in Oman · 7 →

Central Bank of Oman — FinTech

Government · Oman · Active
Regulatory permission to test products live; no funding provided.
No equity — service or permission
—

Future Fund Oman

Government · Oman · Open
VC OMR 4K–100K (ideation to seed); SME equity OMR 250K–5M; SME debt OMR 100K–500K; projects to OMR 100M.
Equity or debt — up to 40% stake on project track
—

Knowledge Oasis Muscat

Government · Oman · Active
Tech park benefits and tax exemptions.
No equity — service or permission
—

Riyada — ASMED

Government · Oman · Active
Financing up to OMR 250,000; own share up to 10%, up to 10 years after grace.
Loan — up to 10 years after up to two years' grace
—

Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD)

Government · Oman · Active
Special economic zone incentives plus a 30-year tax holiday.
No equity — service or permission
—

Oman Investment Authority (OIA)

Government · Oman · Active
Sovereign capital backing; not a direct funder.
Terms not published
—

Sas for Excellence

Government · Oman · Closed
Up to OMR 1M per company in financing support, plus wage subsidies.
Financing terms not published
—

See these 7 government programmes in Oman on the map →

Government programmes in Bahrain · 5 →

Bahrain Development Bank

Government · Bahrain · Active
SME financing from a BHD 3,000 minimum; SME Fund tenors up to 5 years.
Loan — repayable
—

CBB FinTech Regulatory Sandbox

Government · Bahrain · Active
Regulatory permission to test fintech, payments and crypto products.
No equity — service or permission
—

Bahrain EDB

Government · Bahrain · Active
Investor support, fast registration and a startup visa.
No equity — service or permission
—

BENEFIT

Government · Bahrain · Active
National payments switch; owns Bahrain FinTech Bay. Not a funder.
Terms not published
—

MoIC Bahrain

Government · Bahrain · Active
Licenses incubators, accelerators and incubated startups.
No equity — service or permission
—

See these 5 government programmes in Bahrain on the map →

Government programmes by country

Saudi Arabia · 14UAE · 10Qatar · 8Kuwait · 8Oman · 7Bahrain · 5

All 52 government programmes across the six countries on one map — with the other 351 programmes a filter away.

Open the map →
52 government programmes across the Gulf — on the mapOpen the map →