The Madinah Tech Cultivator has officially launched its second cohort, marking a major milestone in the program’s mission to deploy high‑impact technologies that address the real urban challenges of Madinah.

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The selection process for the new cohort has now been completed. The program received over 100 applications from startups representing 26 countries, reflecting growing global interest in building and deploying solutions within one of the world’s most historically significant and strategically evolving cities.

Applications addressed some of the most pressing challenges faced by Madinah Amanah, including:

• Public facilities and parks management

• Food surplus management and waste reduction

• Stray animal management and animal welfare

• Smart security and public safety

• Digital infrastructure and asset management

• Afforestation and environmental sustainability

• Waste management and sorting

• Traffic reduction and urban mobility

  
  

Here is what the cohort participant, Mohammed Ahmed — CEO & Co-Founder, Flow Guard, says: “Saudi Arabia has unique challenges, and Madinah's are even more specific. Our motivation is to deliver custom, local solutions tailored exactly to the holy city's local needs”.

Following a rigorous evaluation process, 20 startups were selected to join Cohort 2 — making this the most global and challenge‑driven cohort since the program’s inception.

The selected companies come from 12 countries: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Syria, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Tunisia, the United States, Egypt, Denmark and Uganda.

“Accelerator models were created in 2005 for a completely different economic and technological reality. The real question is why we still rely on them today in a world that has fundamentally evolved. Today’s founders operate in a transformed global environment — yet our support models haven’t evolved to match that reality. Gingo exists to change that” - said Anna Shevchenko, CEO of Gingo Foundation.

A Cultivator Built for Real‑World Deployment

Launched in partnership with Madinah Amanah and designed and operated by the Gingo Foundation — a nonprofit reshaping innovation ecosystem, the Madinah Tech Cultivator goes beyond the traditional accelerator model.

“In Madinah, we see urban challenges not as obstacles, but as opportunities to create real, human-centered solutions. Through Madinah Tech, we have built an urban cultivator that allows ideas to be tested in real environments, with direct involvement from the community.The biggest challenge is not generating ideas — it is turning them into solutions that work on the ground. This is where Madinah Tech creates value: it gives entrepreneurs and startups the opportunity to test, validate, and deploy their solutions within a real city context.In Cohort 1, more than five startups were able to turn their ideas into real business opportunities and begin operating in the city. Cohort 2 builds on this progress by enabling ready solutions to move from experimentation to practical impact — improving quality of life in Madinah and creating models that can scale beyond the city,” says Saad Ibrahim Shafee — Founder of Madinah Tech, Chief Communication Officer & Community Development Director General of Strategic Studies, PPP & Change Management, Madinah Municipality.

One of the Cultivator participants, Md Al Amin Sarker, Founder & CEO, Barikoi Maps, comments: "I was looking for an opportunity to get into Saudi Market with one of our vertical but i did not want to join an accelerator I wanted to get integrated and get the opportunity to pilot, Madinah Cultivator exactly opens up that opportunity for me".

Rather than focusing solely on mentorship or investment readiness, the program is built around real-world implementation—enabling technologies to be tested, piloted, and scaled directly within Madinah’s urban environment.

"What motivated us was a real problem, a clear solution, and the right partners. Seeing Madinah Municipality — Amanah — backing the Cultivator convinced us this was exactly where Emtethal belongs. We believe our platform can be a real asset aligned with Amanah's vision to build a smarter, higher-quality city experience for residents and visitors alike,” — Abdulrahman Joud, Cultivator participant, CEO & Co-Founder, Emtethal.

Through the program, founders work closely with government stakeholders, infrastructure operators, and city leaders to deploy solutions that can generate measurable impact across priority sectors, including:

• Water & Environment

• Smart City & AI

• Food & Agriculture

• Green Building & Energy

• Hospitality & Tourism

• Mobility & Transport

• Healthcare

• Social Impact & Accessibility

• Waste Management

Cohort 2 Selected Startups

The second cohort includes a diverse mix of AI, IoT, climate tech, smart infrastructure, and social impact innovators, such as:

Emtethal – AI, computer vision, and IoT platform helping hospitality operators detect food safety and operational violations in real time.

Porte Tech – A hardware‑free digital concierge for hotels offering digital keys, online check‑in/out, and in‑stay upsells.

DeafTawk – AI‑powered sign language translation and interpreter platform integrated into hospitals, banks, and public services across multiple markets.

WriteReader – EdTech storytelling platform enabling children visiting Madinah to create multilingual digital & analogue books inspired by Seerah, with over 1M users globally.

DinoTech – Fully solar‑powered, off‑grid vending machines designed for high‑footfall outdoor locations.

RiayaTech – AI‑driven health platform combining telemedicine, emergency dispatch, and electronic medical records.

Xpertly – Secure AI execution platform delivering real world autonomous business operations - call centers, technical services and generative customer service portals.

Blue Filter – Bio‑based, electricity‑free water filtration technology removing up to 98% of nitrates and chlorides.

Net Zero Build – AI infrastructure for green building certifications, helping developers and consultants reduce risk, cut costs, and automate compliance at scale.

Barikoi Maps – Urban intelligence and mapping platform supporting smart city data layers and national address systems.

Edge Studio - Edge Studio is an end-to-end platform that enables anyone to deploy machine learning models on any device. No code. No expertise required.

At Hause Ltd – Phygital traceability and certification system for organic, fumigant‑free grain exports to GCC markets.

NetGreen – Blockchain‑enabled reforestation and ESG reporting platform tracking restoration via satellite and AI.

GridFabrIQ – Physics‑based decision infrastructure for electric grid resilience and investment planning.

TrustiT – AI platform for tracking electronic asset lifecycles and generating carbon impact reports.

Spectrum Of Life – SOL Industrial AI Platform for Utilities, a unified and scalable system integrating AI, IoT, and smart metering to deliver real time monitoring, intelligent control, and seamless management of water networks and tanker operations.

ReNile – Smart monitoring platform for shared urban assets, parks, irrigation, and waste infrastructure.

Flow Guard – Smart sub‑metering and leak detection solution for shared residential buildings.

SALUTS – AI control layer enabling natural‑language operation of multi‑domain infrastructure such as drones, sensors, and CCTVs.

CONXCITY – V2X connectivity platform integrating vehicles, infrastructure, and city services through unified AI and data layers. 

Looking Ahead

As Cohort 2 begins deployment and piloting across Madinah, further announcements will follow highlighting startup use cases, partnerships, and on‑ground implementations.

It is worth noting that applications for participation in the next cycle of the Madinah Tech Cultivator program will begin in the autumn of 2026 and will be an excellent opportunity for technologists and innovators seeking to implement real solutions on a city scale.