TiE Dubai
TiE Dubai is the Dubai chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs, a not-for-profit network. Inaugurated in 2003, it runs mentoring, networking, education and founder programmes for the UAE and MENA.
Industry: Entrepreneurship support network | Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Founded: 2003
About TiE Dubai
TiE Dubai is the Dubai chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a global not-for-profit network for entrepreneurs. It supports founders in the United Arab Emirates and the wider Middle East and North Africa through five pillars named on its website: mentoring, networking, education, funding and incubation.
TiE was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley. The Dubai chapter was inaugurated in January 2003 by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairman of TECOM, and Dubai Internet City has supported it since its launch. The chapter is run by charter members, who are entrepreneurs, corporate executives and senior professionals. Its board for the 2026 to 2027 term is led by Bashar Kilani as president, with Shameema Parveen as president-elect and Prashant Gulati as president emeritus.
TiE Dubai runs four programmes. TiE Fellows is an invite-only programme for full-time founders that matches them with charter members. TiE Youth, which replaced TiE U, works with universities and says it has supported more than 1,000 students across over 50 universities in the Gulf and MENA region. TiE Women MENA holds an annual competition for women founders, with a 2026 edition offering USD 50,000 in equity-free cash prizes across tracks for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Emirati founders and the wider region; Ayesha Mansha, founder of Sahl, won in 2025. A mentorship programme pairs early-stage founders with experienced professionals.
The chapter lists Dubai Internet City, TECOM, in5, Nokia, Dubai Business Women's Council, Sheraa, Wamda, Flat6Labs and Astrolabs among its partners. Its 2026 announcement said events held since March 2026 across seven sectors had drawn more than 1,800 registrations, with over 60 percent returning attendees. It also named charter members from organisations including Google, Amazon MENA, BCG, Accenture, Citibank, Noon, BECO Capital and Wio Bank.
TiE Dubai is a membership-based non-profit. Its 2026 board release described the global TiE network as having more than 20,000 members, over 3,500 charter members and more than 65 chapters in 15 countries. The chapter's current priorities, according to Kilani, are deeper mentorship and stronger partnerships.
Leadership
- Bashar Kilani, President
- Shameema Parveen, President-Elect and Co-chair, TiE Women MENA
- Prashant Gulati, President Emeritus
- Bianca Gracias, Events Director
- Deepak Padmanabhan, Director of Finance
- Kushal Shah, Membership Director
- Ramit Harisinghani, Director of Marketing
- Piero Ricotti, Mentorship Director