AstroLabs: Powering Digital Transformation across MENA’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Founded by visionaries Louis Lebbos and Muhammed Mekki, co-founders of Namshi.com in 2012, AstroLabs has stood at the forefront of encouraging talent and innovation while empowering businesses within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. AstroLabs started as a Google for Startups co-working space to grow into a fully-fledged digital power offering holistic support for the startup, entrepreneurs, and enterprises in the region.

AstroLabs started its journey with one simple aim: to overcome regional entrepreneurs and startups’ challenges and unlock their potential. Louis Lebbos and Muhammed Mekki created the initiative after they brought Namshi, one of the first e-commerce companies in the region, to scale and appreciate the specific pains that start-ups suffer from in the MENA region. AstroLabs was their response—a digital capability building platform setting up founders with tools, knowledge, and network to succeed in global marketplace. The company officially launched in March 2013, with its first co-working space nestled in Dubai’s bustling Jumeirah Lakes Towers neighbourhood. Within a short period, AstroLabs ballooned to become MENA’s most trusted partner for addressing innovation challenges and building digital ecosystems through capacity-building programs and a vast entrepreneurial network. By 2015, the company had accelerated to one of the significant enablers for Dubai’s startup ecosystem, where hundreds of entrepreneurs utilized AstroLabs’ co-working space, mentorship programs, and educational resources. AstroLabs became the first tech hub in Dubai to partner with Google, connecting its members to over 20 hubs worldwide in the same year. Though AstroLabs is no longer part of Google for Start-ups (GFS) since 2024, its root in tech and community building is an influence across the region.

AstroLabs has expanded its operations in Saudi Arabia in 2020 and became the first licensed international incubator in the Kingdom. This was an important step because entrepreneurs now have equal world-class access resources in Dubai. AstroLabs Riyadh provides co-working space, programs, and business setup solutions that provide foreign-owned entities with an easier path to establishing a presence in Saudi Arabia. AstroLabs’ entry into the Saudi market also underscores its commitment to creating local entrepreneurship while expanding on enabling global business into the region. The company plays a vital role in its Set-Up in Saudi platform for businesses looking to set up operations within the Kingdom while availing 100% foreign ownership, one of the major attractions to international investors interested in the rapidly expanding Saudi market.

AstroLabs operates on a holistic model with an objective to uplift regional businesses, prepare them to compete effectively at the global level, and enhance the digital skills of entrepreneurs and businesses. Those include digital marketing, data analytics, and tech innovation, so startups in MENA countries can compete globally. With this capacity building, AstroLabs also offers a collaborative environment for entrepreneurs to work, share ideas, and meet people with similar aspirations, coming to co-working spaces in Dubai and Riyadh. Through its depth of expertise, AstroLabs is able not only to get businesses started but to do so with a fair amount of ease in establishing themselves in markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as many of these processes are complex. The company provides solutions which would simplify the whole setting-up procedure, thereby making it easier to establish operations for foreign-owned entities in those key markets.

AstroLabs thrives on agility, sustainability, impact and scalability-the core values of the company. AstroLabs has designed its programs to be self-sustaining ecosystems that fuel short-term growth while providing long-term solutions for the digital economy. In that sense, AstroLabs is working toward the future of MENA’s tech landscape through enabling businesses to tap new opportunities and scale globally. Work closely with its partners, AstroLabs ensures to design transformational programs to accommodate the ever-evolving needs of the regional market. As this economy continues to grow across MENA, AstroLabs is dedicated to arming entrepreneurs with all the tools and knowledge they will need in order to stay one step ahead of the curve.

With a substantial impact in the future of the MENA region, AstroLabs has been focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and enhancing the digital capacity. Its regional and international reach combined with its inclusive approach have continued to transform businesses and foster a thriving tech ecosystem across the Middle East. Either by helping startups take their first steps or by aiding global players enter the MENA market, AstroLabs is surely a driving force behind the region’s digital revolution.