The Middle East is becoming an increasingly frequent destination among Spanish startups seeking to expand beyond Europe. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in markets such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, especially in sectors that… … There is strong technology demand. “What drives many startups is a combination of economic growth, public investment and openness to new technological solutions,” says Juan José Goemes, head of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at IE University. At the same time, the brakes tend to be “lack of knowledge of the regulatory framework, the need to adapt to a different negotiating culture and the cost of establishing a local presence.” “Those who take this step usually do so with a partner in the region and a long-term vision,” he adds.
The greatest opportunities occur in sectors where Spain already has a strong position and which closely align with the region’s priorities: renewable energy, climate technology, digital education, health, fintech and everything related to smart cities or advanced construction. “These are areas where the demand is real and where Spanish startups tend to compete with great solvency,” says Juan José Goemes.
It is a market that increasingly recognizes entrepreneurs. For example, clear efforts have been made in several Gulf countries to attract innovative talent, accelerate technology adoption, and open doors to international projects. “It’s an environment where the entrepreneur usually feels welcome,” he asserts. It also refers to a piece of information that is “particularly revealing.”
Different markets
IE University has been organizing startup competitions around the world for more than a decade, and “Saudi Arabia is the only country where we have received applications from more women-led startups than men,” he says. Remember that there are many differences between countries in this area. For example, the Gulf countries share rapidly growing economies and strong demand for technology; “The countries of the Levant, such as Jordan or Lebanon, operate with different economic dynamics.” Israel operates according to its own logic, “as one of the most advanced technological ecosystems in the world.” While other countries in the region, such as Yemen, “do not provide a similar environment today. Therefore, entering the Middle East requires analyzing each market individually,” he points out.
Entering this geographical area requires analyzing each market individually.
The startup Ocean Ecostructures is a technology company specializing in replenishing biodiversity in marine environments of ports or wind farms located on the high seas. From the beginning, they saw a lot of potential for their business in the Middle East market, but the opportunity to make that leap came sooner than expected thanks to their participation in the ScaleX program at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. The company was selected as one of 10 international technology startups out of nearly 600 nominees from around the world, and is the only Spanish company. “Thanks to this programme, we got support for cultural adaptation, to understand how to do business in this market and support the creation of a subsidiary there,” explains Ignasi Ferrer, co-founder of the startup. In this way, they designed their strategic plan to land in the country and were able to meet potential clients. “They accompanied us a lot,” they explained.
Ocean Ecostructures has developed a biodiversity replenishment solution that is unique in the world. They are micro-coral reefs that mimic the function of natural coral reefs and multiply the biodiversity by six where they are installed through an advanced monitoring system that allows companies to comply with their environmental, social and governance plans. “Standards measure the wealth we produce and translate environmental benefit into economic benefit,” explains the co-founder. “The Gulf countries were one of our strategic markets because they have 600 oil rigs and that scar of wire can be turned into a coral reef,” Ferrer explains. “We were lucky to be chosen, and it was a great business and personal opportunity,” he adds. He realizes that the country is very different from what they had in mind. “It is in a transition phase and we have found a very high level of training,” he says. In a short time, they realized that “personal relationships and respect are key in this market” and that is why they decided that he, as CEO and co-founder of the company, would be the one to lead this project into reality. He also points out the importance of understanding their culture, explaining “the great respect they have for us, there is a closeness to Spain based on our Arab past.” In the first months of 2026, they hope to start projects in Saudi Arabia. They have a local partner and hope in the future to also have a local team supported from the headquarters in Barcelona.
Strategic decision
From its inception, Unicskin had a deep international vision and the Middle East, very organically, was its first market, quickly becoming its main area of expansion in 2017 when the company started. “It was especially gratifying to see that our first big success story happened specifically in this region, and that today we are the No. 1 brand in Technobelisa and No. 4 in skincare in the Middle East,” says Monica Sada, founder and CEO of the company. Arab women are characterized by a high level of self-care, appreciation for technological innovation and the true effectiveness of biotechnology products, “aspects that are part of our Unicskin DNA,” she stresses. For this reason, betting on the Middle East “was a strategic decision that today is fully supported by the results: we continue to grow at triple digits year after year in this region.”
Since 2017, technology cosmetics company Unicskin has chosen to expand across the Middle East, a market where it has achieved triple-digit growth since then.
This startup offers the latest medical technology and cosmetic science for at-home skin care. The founder explains that its entry into the Middle East region was initially done through the digital channel, “which allowed us to deeply analyze the market and understand consumer needs and behaviors before expanding to the physical channel.” Despite the good reception of the product, it ensures that consolidating its position in the international market is always a complex process that must respond to a strong strategic plan. In the digital sandpaper market, Unicskin has a strategic partner Ounass (Al Tayer Group), and this collaboration has strengthened the brand, achieving over 400% growth in the past year.
In his case, culture shock was not an obstacle, “but became a real strategic advantage,” Al-Sada says. Contact with Arab culture has greatly enriched them and allowed them to understand consumers’ needs, expectations and preferences more accurately. They are present in more than 30 markets, but the Middle East remains one of their most important strategic focus points and they are confident that Spain will soon reach a similar level of growth.
They are markets that recognize entrepreneurial talent and provide facilities for their access.
In the case of eVoost AI, the jump into the Middle East was not an expansion move, but rather a natural move towards where the future of real estate was already happening. “One of our tech-savvy founders had been based in Abu Dhabi for years, and from there we clearly saw something that Europe had not yet understood: the Gulf is not just building cities, it is building the future of ‘urban development,’” says Christian J. Pastrana, co-founder and CEO of the startup. In Europe, they tested their technology as a “test market,” and he adds: “In the UAE we discovered a gap that no one was solving: developers had an exceptional product, but without a unified system that linked market research, product, marketing and sales into a single operating model based on artificial intelligence.” That’s when they saw a strategic opportunity: “Create a global product out of Abu Dhabi, designed for markets that think big, execute fast, and understand that data is king,” he points out.
Its strategic operations have always been located in Abu Dhabi from the beginning, with support from Hub71, the Abu Dhabi Government’s technology accelerator. “We currently have an operating company in Spain, but eVoost AI is a company created from Abu Dhabi to expand globally,” explains Pastrana. He also points out that Abu Dhabi is not just a market, “it is an ecosystem.” He talks about three elements that rarely coexist: a long-term country vision, “where artificial intelligence is part of the national project”; Real estate developments on a global scale, “which need technology capable of regulating the entire business cycle” and a government that accelerates the pace of business, not slow it down, and which “becomes a true partner for deep tech founders.”
Proptech eVoost AI has tested its technology in Europe, but has developed its business with support from Hub71, the Abu Dhabi government’s technology accelerator.
Room for growth
Its expansion throughout the Middle East has been very rapid. They came with a proven technology model, but adapted to international buyer behavior, that fit on day one. “Within months, we have closed projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf markets, both in exclusive and non-exclusive models,” says the CEO.
For a product like eVoost AI, an AI operating system for developers, “Abu Dhabi offers the perfect combination: access to institutional players, speed of implementation, a mindset open to innovation, and a market where 85% of buyers are international.” For all these reasons, he believes this is the ideal place “to build technology that can be scaled to include the US, the MENA region, Europe, and Asia.”