Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy Sets October 7 Awards for Create Apps Championship

Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy will hand out awards for the third edition of the Create Apps Championship on October 7 in Dubai, bringing together app founders and entrepreneurs building digital businesses in the city.

The championship gives participants training and mentorship, introductions to investors and business partners, and funding to take an app from concept to launch.

A track record across sectors

Winners from earlier editions have come out of delivery, property technology, recruitment and healthcare. Four very different markets, each reliant on software to reach customers.

Boom

Boom, co-founded by Mariam Khalifa Alnuaimi and Mariam Mohammed Almarri, took the titles Dubai's App of the Year 2025 and Most Impactful App.

Almarri described the championship as a major milestone for the company. Before it, the team was still in early ideation and prototyping. The recognition, she said, moved Boom from an idea to a real product, and the funding let it build a tool with societal impact. The programme also delivered visibility, credibility, market confidence and connections into Dubai's technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Takeem

Takeem is a property technology company. Its co-founder and chief executive, Rakesh Mavath, said selection and backing from the chamber gave the business institutional credibility with landlords, while the championship stage provided exposure it could not have bought. The chamber, he said, opened doors to enterprise players, government stakeholders and investors.

The company analyzes 611,821 rental contracts annually and uses digital direct debit to automate monthly rent collection. It has onboarded more than 100,000 units representing over AED 9 billion in annual rental value, according to Mavath.

The Intern

The Intern, founded by Bassem Nassif, connects early-career talent with enterprise employers. It is launching in Egypt, expanding across the GCC and preparing for a UK presence.

Nassif said the championship tested the idea in front of experienced judges. Feedback from judges and mentors pushed the team to refine the concept, the business model and the experience, and the pitch process forced it to sharpen its story for enterprise clients. The clarity that followed, he said, improved later conversations with those clients, partners and investors.

Pharmedic

Pharmedic, founded by Mahra Al Hosani, is developing digital healthcare services focused on precision medicine. Al Hosani said the championship strengthened how the company delivers its services digitally and refined its approach to bringing precision medicine closer to patients and healthcare providers. It also gave Pharmedic exposure to board advisors, strategic partners, healthcare regulators and other stakeholders, and widened its global reach, including participation in the Try Everything South Korea Exhibition.

What the pipeline signals

The four companies point to where Dubai's early-stage software builders are clustering: rentals, hiring, healthcare and delivery. What they share is a dependence on institutional buyers rather than consumers. Landlords, enterprises and regulators decide whether these products scale, which makes the chamber's introductions as valuable as the cash. A pitch in front of judges is also a rehearsal for a procurement meeting six months later. The October 7 ceremony will show whether the next cohort follows the same route, or finds one of its own.