Innovo Group, a construction company operating across the United Arab Emirates, signed a partnership agreement with Dubai PropTech Hub to test building-technology innovations on its active construction sites. The agreement was signed at the Dubai International Financial Centre following a memorandum of understanding ceremony in August.
Mohammad Alblooshi, chief executive officer of DIFC Innovation Hub, and Simon Penney, deputy chief executive officer of Innovo, signed the partnership. Arif Amiri, chief executive officer of DIFC Authority, and Bishoy Azmy, chief executive officer of Innovo, witnessed the signing.
Under the agreement, start-ups will gain direct access to Innovo's portfolio of live construction projects to prove technologies at scale. The sites will serve as testing environments for innovations spanning artificial intelligence, robotics, digital twins, automation, sustainable materials and new construction methodologies.
Dubai PropTech Hub, launched in 2025 as part of the DIFC Innovation Hub, aims to support over 200 PropTech start-ups and attract more than $300 million in investment by 2030. The hub provides licensing options, physical workspaces and support programmes designed to move innovations from concept to commercialisation.
Innovo will use the partnership to advance cost efficiency, speed and delivery certainty for its government and private-sector clients. By opening its projects to start-ups, the firm provides a real-world environment in which solutions can be tested against construction challenges before deployment.
The construction sector contributes approximately 9.2 percent to the UAE's gross domestic product and is a key focus of Dubai PropTech Hub's PropTech 2033 report. Half of the participants in the hub's inaugural Global Landing Pad programme focus on pre-construction and construction.
Innovo's site access will directly help start-ups scale their technologies across the Global South, where much of the world's future urbanisation and construction growth is expected to take place, the companies said. The partnership will extend Dubai PropTech Hub's impact across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Clients will gain greater confidence that new technologies have been tested against genuine construction challenges before deployment, Innovo said. The approach supports stronger productivity, safety, quality and delivery certainty.
The construction industry is at a critical innovation juncture, Azmy said. As governments across the region advance ambitious infrastructure and urban development agendas, the industry must rethink how the built environment is designed and delivered, he said.
By joining Dubai PropTech Hub, Innovo is reinforcing its commitment to reimagining construction and providing start-ups with the live project environments and engineering expertise needed to prove and scale their solutions, Azmy said. This partnership will strengthen Dubai's PropTech ecosystem and help shape an innovation-led future for the built environment, he said.