The map·All programmes·Grants & prizes

Grants & prizes in the GCC

16 grants & prizes across the Gulf — 4 in Saudi Arabia, 2 in the UAE, 7 in Qatar, 2 in Kuwait, 1 in Bahrain — 6 taking applications today. What you get, who can apply, what it costs, each one checked against its own website.

Saudi Arabia · 4 →

Cultural Development Fund (CDF)

Grant · Saudi Arabia
Up to SAR 500,000 non-repayable per project, capped at 20 projects total.
No equity — grant
29 Sep 2026closes

RDIA — Saudi Innovation Grants

Grant · Saudi Arabia
Innovation grants of up to SAR 4 million per project (Saudi Innovation Grants Program).
No equity — ownership retained

Misk Foundation

Grant · Saudi Arabia
Zero-equity grants up to SAR 1M through the Challenge for Change programme.
No equity — grant

NTDP — National Tech Dev Program

Grant · Saudi Arabia
Non-dilutive grants and debt from a SAR 2.5B programme; LendTech loans up to SAR 8.5M.
No equity — grant

UAE · 2 →

TiE Women MENA

Grant · UAE
Pitch competition with US$50,000 in equity-free cash prizes.
No equity — cash prize

Zayed Sustainability Prize

Grant · UAE
Non-dilutive prize: US$1M per category winner, US$100K per finalist.
No equity — prize money

Qatar · 7 →

FinTech Development Grant (QFTH)

Grant · Qatar
Milestone-linked co-funding.
No equity — co-funding

Qatar–Spain Innovation Program (QASIP)

Grant · Qatar
Co-funding up to QAR 1.5M for 1–3 year bilateral Qatar–Spain R&D projects.
No equity — grant

QRDI Qatar Open Innovation (QOI)

Grant · Qatar
QAR 365K in funding per challenge, over a one-year pilot.
No equity — grant

QRDI SBIG

Grant · Qatar
Grants up to QAR 3M over 3 years, or phased QAR 800K–2.2M funding.
No equity — grant

QRDI Technology Development Grant (TDG)

Grant · Qatar
Co-funding up to QAR 10M per project; the company also carries a funding share.
No equity — co-funding, not an investment

ROWAD Awards

Grant · Qatar
Business award incentives.
No equity — grant

WISE Prize for Education

Grant · Qatar
A share of a $1M prize pool, plus a $100,000–125,000 conditional grant per finalist.
No equity — grant

Kuwait · 2 →

KFAS Applied Research Grant

Grant · Kuwait
Non-dilutive R&D grant; amount is project-dependent.
No equity — grant

KFAS Young Researcher Grant

Grant · Kuwait
Non-dilutive grant; amount is project-dependent.
No equity — grant

Bahrain · 1 →

Tamkeen

Grant · Bahrain
Grants and subsidies; amount depends on the project.
No equity — grant

Grants & prizes by country