In May, Gitex Europe, a branch of the largest IT fair in Asia and the Middle East, will be held for the first time in Germany. The organizers from the United Arab Emirates expect about 40,000 visitors at the Berlin exhibition grounds. Messe Berlin partners with Gitex and supports the event through a joint venture with an investment in the millions.
“We are not a trade fair, we don’t sell new security solutions,” said Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of the organizer Kaoun International, during an event introducing Gitex Europe in Berlin. “Gitex is an ecosystem.” The fair is a platform for new technologies where large and small companies, startups, and investors come together.
With various exhibition areas, Gitex Europe from May 21 to 23 aims to provide a platform for different industries and technologies. “North Star Europe” is the meeting point for startups and investors, similar to Dubai. However, the fair’s chief emphasizes that Gitex should not be purely a startup event. Big Tech and other industry giants are also expected.
Artificial intelligence plays a central role at Gitex Europe, with other areas focusing on quantum computing, cybersecurity, digital health, environmental technologies, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Heise Medien collaborates with Gitex Europe and presents the “Talent Hub” for job seekers and companies at the fair.
Berlin, as one of the major European startup centers, is seen as a natural candidate for such a tech fair, according to the organizers. Berlin is one of the most important locations for the German startup scene. According to an analysis by the Startup Association, 498 companies were newly founded here last year. “Berlin is a European hub with a lot of research and development,” said LohMirmand. “We believe in Berlin.”
The contracts were signed in 2023. The state-owned Messe Berlin and Kaoun International, a subsidiary of the Dubai World Trade Center, have created a joint venture for Gitex Europe, with both partners investing a low single-digit million amount according to media reports. The responsible economic senator Franziska Giffey expressed her delight on Wednesday that the fair is coming to the capital: “Berlin is the most innovative place in Europe.”
Gitex has its roots in a classic IT fair for the Middle East and Asia, which has been held annually in Dubai since 1981. Gitex Global has significantly grown and aims to provide a platform for new technologies, startups, and investors. In October 2024, the five-day event attracted over 200,000 visitors.
In recent years, Gitex has been on an expansion course, creating branches in other countries. Since 2023, Gitex Africa has been held in Morocco, where the organizers counted around 30,000 visitors in Marrakesh last year. In September, Gitex Nigeria will take place for the first time. Additional events under the Gitex banner occur in Singapore and Thailand.
“Companies there often don’t have the means to come to us. So we bring the world to them,” explains LohMirmand about the strategy. “They lack access to markets, access to capital.” This also applies to European companies: “Gitex Europe gives you access to markets.” For startups, this access is affordable: a standardized booth costs them 2500 euros.
For the first Gitex Europe in Berlin, the organizers expect around 40,000 professional visitors and over 2000 exhibitors, including AWS, Ionos, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). These are ambitious goals for a debut at a new location. But even if it doesn’t work out immediately, the goal for fair chief LohMirmand is clear: “In maybe two, three years, we want to be the largest tech fair in Europe.”
Gitex Europe: May 21 to 23, 2025, Messe Berlin.