Dubai’s tech exhibition Gitex Global heading to Europe for the first time

'Gitex going to Berlin proves that we’re able to take the best talent from the region to Europe and extract the brightest ideas from Europe to Dubai,' UAE minister says

by

Waheed Abbas

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Photos by M. Sajjad
Photos by M. Sajjad

Published: Wed 18 Oct 2023, 1:39 PM

Last updated: Wed 18 Oct 2023, 9:57 PM

The world’s largest technology and startup exhibition Gitex Global has grown further with expansion to Europe.

The inaugural edition will be held in Berlin, Germany, from May 21 to 23, 2025, in cooperation with Messe Berlin.


“We are proud to announce the launch of ‘Gitex Europe 2025’, which will make its debut in May 2025 in Berlin, Germany. This announcement solidifies Gitex as the world’s biggest technology exhibition and highlights Dubai’s commitment to fostering partnerships, collaboration, and global connections for a brighter future,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai.

“Dubai continues to expand its horizons, pioneering new pathways towards an even brighter digital and technological future. 'Gitex Europe 2025' will help create a global tech path led by Dubai to connect international tech executives with new opportunities and partnerships,” Sheikh Hamdan said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).


Gitex has also forayed into the African continent with the first edition being held in Morocco.

Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence in the UAE, said this week of Gitex Technology has seen a lot of events and launches happening and incredible partnerships announced at the expo.

"Gitex stands for what Dubai stands for. Dubai is not a city that is local. It is a global city that represents the world. Gitex going to Berlin proves that we’re able to take the best talent from the region to Europe and extract the brightest ideas from Europe and bring them to Dubai. We are hoping to make Gitex Europe the most successful event and cement a positive future for people everyone,” Al Olama said during the press conference.

The 43rd edition of Gitex Global taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre has attracted more than 6,000 companies from around the world. This includes public and private sector entities and around 1,800 starts startups from across the globe.

Trixie LohMirmand, executive vice president, Dubai World Trade Centre, and CEO of Kaoun International, said Gitex remained the only technology show that went through the pandemic uninterrupted. “This is the trust we have gained with the global technology community and professionals. We hope to repeat the success we had in Africa into Europe with all of our counterparts,” she said.

“Both Dubai and Berlin are home to around 180-200 nationalities, great access to VCs, great connectivity, very vibrant startups and technology economies,” said LohMirmand.

He added that to create impact, there is a need to bring the whole ecosystem together. “Gitex DNA is about the power of people and technology and people come first before technology. We bring most imaginative and creative people from different parts of the world, diverse cultures and different beliefs but shared ambitions to create a better future,” she said.

Franziska Giffey, Mayor of Berlin and Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises, said Berlin and Gitex are a perfect match and the two are united in connecting global community and innovators in sharing the passion for pioneering new technologies.

“We take pride in being a city which has internationalisation deeply rooted in its DNA. We together can achieve more and share our joint future.

Berlin is Germany’s biggest centre for education and research with 40 universities, 80 research centres and 250,000 students, creating a dynamic environment for innovation. We have thousands of startups and one of biggest startup ecosystems in Europe,” said Giffey.

Dr. Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin, said Berlin is the epicentre of the tech startup community. “We bring all this passion and innovation that we feel in Dubai to Berlin and Europe. There is no such technology event in Europe. This is a perfect fit for our portfolio.”

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