in5 Design
in5 Design is Dubai Holding’s design incubator: subsidised DDA FZ-LLC, coworking, prototyping labs, and showcase paths (Dubai Design Week, Arab Fashion Week). Apply with app_type=design. Evergreen membership, no equity. You need to be a design / product / fashion / hardware-adjacent studio, not a generic web agency using “design” as a keyword. in5 Tech and in5 Media are separate apply links on this board.
DESK TAKE
The lab is the product. If you will not use machines or the calendar, you are paying for a licence you could buy cheaper elsewhere.
ELIGIBILITY
For design startups who want to build inside Dubai Design District. - Idea-stage to early-stage; portfolio/sample of work and a prototype or proof of concept expected by pitch stage - Sector: design — sustainability, recycled/repurposed materials, process and supply-chain optimisation, design excellence - Must be located in, or willing to relocate to, the UAE; team must be based in Dubai if accepted - Rolling, year-round applications — no deadline - Process: online form + business plan presentation, shortlisting, pitch to expert committee, then incorporation
QUESTIONS
Do they take equity?
in5 is membership-based and published as no equity.
Can I apply to all three in5s?
Pick the vertical you actually are. Three applications is a signal you did not read.