AstroLabs Dubai will launch its temporary working space this April 1, ahead of its official opening as a Google Tech Hub Space.
The new Google Tech Hub space, first announced in 2014, will be the first Google partner in the MENA region. AstroLabs would like to focus on mobile app development, which they see as a huge growth area in the Middle East, thanks to high mobile penetration rates. They also hope to increase female-led startups by 25 percent.
In addition to a partnership with Google, the new hub will allow movement in the ecosystem from both directions, as they will be bringing in startups from India. In the future, they want to expand that partnership to include other startups from Russia, Turkey, Pakistan and Morocco.
"By having this new space, we are going more global. We have startups coming from the United States, from South Africa. Basically, what we are doing with the Tech Hub and by partnering with the Dubai Free Zone, we are able to offer companies the ability to get established in Dubai. We are making it a soft landing for any companies that are looking to scale," says Michelle Joseph, COO at AstroLabs.
Housed in Dubai's Jumeriah Lakes Towers, they have accepted close to 30 companies that will launch with them on April 1. For a monthly membership of Dh 1,550 ($400) for entrepreneurs and Dh 2,250 ($610), companies have access to mentors, office space and mobile device development lab.
AstroLabs, founded by entrepreneurs Louis Lebbos and Muhammed Mekki after they left online shopping website Namshi, has scaled more that 100 startups in the region to date, hailing from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Jordan. They have been credited with scaling companies like Shahiya, the Arabic recipe portal that was Lebanon's first exit from the region, and Careem, the Uber-competitor in Dubai.