Start-ups gain direct access to real-world testing environments through the programme

Dubai: Following an MoU signing ceremony at DIFC, Dubai PropTech Hub, an initiative of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), and Innovo Group have announced a strategic partnership. DIFC is the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region and home to the region’s first PropTech innovation hub.
Through this partnership with Innovo Group, a leading construction company across the UAE’s built environment, both entities aim to accelerate construction innovation across the UAE and the wider Global South, spanning Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
The partnership agreement was signed by Mohammad Alblooshi, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Innovation Hub and Simon Penney, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Innovo and witnessed by His Excellency Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority and Bishoy Azmy, Chief Executive Officer of Innovo.
As a construction industry leader serving a broad portfolio of government and private-sector clients, Innovo will leverage the partnership to advance its vision of embedding innovation across how the built environment is designed, engineered and delivered.
By combining its live construction projects, engineering expertise and wider innovation ecosystem with the capabilities of Dubai PropTech Hub, Innovo will help identify, test and scale innovations that improve cost efficiency, speed and delivery certainty for the industry and its clients.
Contributing approximately 9.2 percent to the UAE’s GDP, the construction sector is a critical pillar of the national economy and a key focus of Dubai PropTech Hub’s PropTech 2033 report. Launched in 2025 as part of the DIFC Innovation Hub, the Dubai PropTech Hub brings together key stakeholders to accelerate innovation in the sector, with an ambition to support over 200 PropTech start-ups, and attract more than $300 million in investment by 2030.
It now welcomes Innovo alongside its founding partners to strengthen innovation across the real estate value chain. The Dubai PropTech Hub provides customised licensing options, purpose-built physical workspaces, and a full suite of support programmes designed to fast-track innovation from concept to commercialisation.
For Innovo, the partnership advances its ambition to reimagine construction through innovations that deliver greater cost efficiency, speed and efficacy. By opening its extensive portfolio of live projects to start-ups and future-facing innovators, Innovo provides a real-world environment in which solutions can be proven at scale.
This approach creates direct value for clients, giving them greater confidence that new technologies have been tested against genuine construction challenges before deployment, while supporting stronger productivity, safety, quality and delivery certainty.
With 50 per cent of participants in Dubai PropTech Hub’s inaugural Global Landing Pad programme focused on pre-construction and construction, Innovo's site access will directly help these start-ups scale innovations spanning artificial intelligence, robotics, digital twins, automation, sustainable materials and new methodologies.
By developing PropTech innovations in the UAE and applying them across Innovo’s extensive footprint, the partnership will extend Dubai PropTech Hub’s impact across the Global South, where much of the world’s future urbanisation and construction growth is expected to take place. This will help accelerate the adoption of innovative technology-enabled construction models across international markets.
Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority, commented: “The Dubai PropTech Hub was established to serve as a regional platform where innovation meets industry at scale. Innovo’s participation enhances our ability to move PropTech solutions from concept into live construction environments. By providing start‑ups with access to real projects, this collaboration accelerates commercial adoption and delivers tangible value for the industry, while reinforcing Dubai’s position as a global leader in real estate innovation.”
Bishoy Azmy, CEO of Innovo Group, said: “The construction industry is at a critical innovation juncture. As governments across the region advance ambitious infrastructure and urban development agendas, the industry must rethink how the built environment is designed and delivered. By joining Dubai PropTech Hub, Innovo is reinforcing its commitment to reimagining construction and providing start-ups with the live project environments and engineering expertise needed to prove and scale their solutions. This partnership will strengthen Dubai’s PropTech ecosystem and help shape an innovation-led future for the built environment.”
The strategic alliance establishes a comprehensive framework capable of tackling the construction sector's most pressing global challenges. By uniting visionary policy, agile technological development, and large-scale physical execution, Innovo and the Dubai PropTech Hub are laying the definitive foundation for a more resilient built environment.
The partnership ensures that Dubai remains the global epicentre for construction innovation while exporting a highly sustainable, data-driven blueprint for urban development worldwide.
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