Entrepreneur awards for founders, co-founding teams and family-business builders across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the wider Arab region. Twenty entrepreneur categories, each scored by the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree on evidence of what the founder has built.
✓ Free to nominate · No nomination fee · No registration fee
Founding a company in the Gulf now spans every stage, from first-time founders registering a licence in a free zone to second-generation family members launching new ventures inside an established group. Many founders build across borders from the start, serving customers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC within their first few years. The Entrepreneur Awards recognise the people who did the building, whatever the size or stage of the business.
Entrepreneur recognition is personal: it stays with the founder rather than the company. An award gives a founder an independent reference point to use in conversations with investors, partners, early hires and customers, and it remains part of their record if they go on to build again.
The Entrepreneur Awards programme covers twenty categories that reflect how founders actually build in the Arab region: by founder profile (young, female, serial, solo or co-founding team), by funding route (bootstrapped, venture-backed or sovereign-backed), and by country. A founder may be nominated in more than one category when the evidence supports each one.
The categories are open to first-time founders, family-business successors launching new ventures, and serial founders on their second or third company. What each nomination needs is a clear account of what the founder built and the evidence behind it, rather than a polished narrative.
Winners use the laurel in tenders, marketing collateral, recruitment, investor presentations, and partner introductions. Independent recognition gives customers, partners and future hires a credible signal that the founder's record has been reviewed against published criteria.
Founders based anywhere in the Arab region can be nominated, and six of the twenty categories are country awards. Each country page explains how recognition works in that market: UAE awards, Saudi Arabia awards, Qatar awards, Kuwait awards, Bahrain awards and Oman awards. Founders who now lead a larger organisation as CEO or chair may find a closer fit in the Leadership Awards.
Entrepreneur nominations are evaluated on two things: the founder's build history (what they started, how they used capital, the team they assembled and any previous ventures) and the current venture (traction, customers, financial sustainability and what sets it apart).
Every submission is scored against five evaluation pillars — market impact, innovation, financial sustainability, operational excellence, and category-specific criteria. Evaluation and winner selection are carried out by the Jury team or the Management of Golden Tree; the full stages are set out on the selection process page.
Eligibility is broad. Solo founders, co-founding teams, bootstrapped operators, venture-backed founders, sovereign-backed founders, family-business founders, and entrepreneurial leaders within larger groups are all welcome. We accept self-nominations, co-founder nominations, investor nominations, and customer nominations on equal terms.
Winners are selected by the Jury team or, depending on availability, the Management of Golden Tree. Each nomination is assessed on the evidence submitted against the five evaluation pillars, and founders at different stages are compared on what they achieved with the resources they had.
Sponsorship has no influence on outcomes, and choosing a paid nomination plan does not guarantee a win.
Winners receive a hand-crafted luxury trophy, engraved plaque, gold medal, certificate of excellence, dedicated founder-feature in our annual press release, regional and international PR placement, social-media features through our channel network, and lifetime alumni access.
The Winner Package is required to activate the winner title and grants the right to use the award name and winner title.
Nominations are submitted on our centralised nomination form, hosted on the Golden Tree Awards platform. The form accepts self-nominations, peer nominations, and third-party nominations equally — a nomination from a co-founder, investor or client is scored on exactly the same criteria as a self-nomination. Nomination is free — there is no nomination fee and no registration fee. The Free plan covers one award programme in one category at City level, with a mandatory Winner Package order if you are selected as a winner; optional paid plans start with Silver at USD 140 — see the nomination plans for the options.
Supporting materials can be uploaded directly through the form or sent by email after submission. We recommend three to five carefully chosen documents — case studies, customer references, audited financial highlights where appropriate, and relevant press coverage — over fifteen lightly relevant ones. Strong nominations are specific, evidence-backed, and honest about what made the past 12 months distinctive.
If you have questions about category fit, eligibility windows, or how to position your nomination, contact the awards team at awards@goldentreeawards.com or message us on WhatsApp at +971 58 586 2014. We routinely help nominators refine their category choice before submission — a category that matches what the founder actually built makes the evidence easier to assess.
Current and recent founders — solo founders, co-founding teams, bootstrapped operators, venture-backed founders, family-business founders, and entrepreneurial leaders within larger groups. The bar is build impact, not company stage.
Yes. Best Co-Founding Team is a dedicated category. Co-founding teams are also welcome to nominate individual co-founders separately if appropriate.
Female Entrepreneur of the Year is a dedicated category recognizing exceptional female-led ventures. Female founders also compete in the main categories on the same criteria as male peers.
It is one input but not the headline factor. Bootstrapped founders with strong revenue growth and team-building track records are assessed on the same footing as venture-backed founders; what matters is what was achieved with the resources available.
Founders who have won within the past 3 years are ineligible for the same category, but may be recognized in adjacent categories — for example, an Entrepreneur of the Year honoree may later win Best Exit Story or Lifetime Entrepreneurial Achievement.
Live at the 2027 gala on 24 April 2027.
Trophy, plaque, gold medal, certificate, dedicated founder-feature press release, regional and international PR, social-media features, and lifetime alumni access. The Winner Package is required to activate the winner title.