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Google Cloud Backs DXB Female Founders Event Series
Hosted at Google Cloud’s Dubai office, the series provides female entrepreneurs in the UAE with mentorship, skills, and networking opportunities.
The DXB Female Founders (DFF) monthly event series — an initiative supporting women entrepreneurs in the UAE — has secured sponsorship from Google Cloud. Hosted at Google Cloud’s Dubai office, the series will offer female founders a space to connect, learn, and develop critical business skills.
Kicking off today, the DFF series will feature monthly events, each built around a unique theme. Attendees can expect hands-on workshops, expert-led discussions, and real-life founder stories designed to provide actionable insights for aspiring and established entrepreneurs.
The first event focuses on Founder Stories, featuring Saba Yussouf, General Partner of Nettle Ventures. Saba, who sold her first business at 24 for £2 million and now leads a $60 million biotech company, will offer first-hand advice on investor readiness, key funding strategies, and what investors seek in a startup.
Adding to the lineup, Marisa Peer — celebrity therapist and best-selling author of I Am Enough — will deliver a session on overcoming self-doubt, building confidence, and achieving business success. With experience coaching top athletes, executives, and high-profile individuals, Marisa’s insights will be invaluable for founders looking to break mental barriers and reach their full potential.
The series will also welcome Nacho Floristan, Director of Generative AI Solutions Architecture at Google Cloud, alongside other accomplished female founders who will share their entrepreneurial journeys.
Faranak Farahmand Pour, Director of Global Strategic Initiatives at Google Cloud, highlighted the impact of this initiative: “Through our support of the DXB Female Founders event series, we aim to help unlock the immense potential of female talent in this region and contribute to the UAE’s ambitious goals for economic growth and technological advancement”.
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Nicki Bedford, Founder & CEO of DXB Female Founders, echoed the sentiment: “DXB Female Founders is committed to equipping women entrepreneurs with the tools, knowledge, and networks they need to thrive. We’re incredibly grateful for Google Cloud’s sponsorship, which allows us to reach more women and connect them with world-class expertise”.
By offering practical skills, fostering meaningful connections, and providing access to top-tier mentors, the initiative aims to contribute to the UAE’s vision of technological progress, economic diversification, and a thriving innovation culture.
For more details about the initiative or to register for upcoming DXB events, head to the official website.
News
AltoVolo Opens Orders For Limited Edition Sigma eVTOLs
Early buyers can now reserve build slots for AltoVolo’s 500-mile hybrid aircraft through a new online configurator.
AltoVolo has started taking pre-orders for its first electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the Sigma, moving the startup closer to commercial rollout. Customers can now secure a build slot with a £860 deposit and customize every detail online — from paintwork to seatbelt stitching. It’s the first configurator of its kind for a civilian eVTOL, mirroring how luxury car brands let clients tailor performance models before production.
The Sigma runs on a hybrid-electric tilting jet system built for long range and low noise. It can travel up to 500 miles at a 220-mph cruise, and is over 80% quieter than a helicopter. The three-seater weighs just 980kg and can maintain stable flight even if one jet fails. Safety systems include triple-redundant controls, thrust-vectoring stability and a ballistic parachute.
“We will be delivering an ultra-refined hybrid electric aircraft,” said founder and CEO Will Wood. “We believe there are thousands of customers for this type of cutting-edge technology”.
The first 100 units will come with exclusive materials and finishes. AltoVolo is also setting up a global service and maintenance network, with early planning for overhaul schedules already underway. The company’s focus on ownership experience echoes its ambition to anchor itself alongside established aviation brands rather than pure tech ventures.
To help new owners train, the company has built a full-scale simulator that replicates the Sigma cockpit in carbon fiber and leather. Pilots can log time toward a license using the system, aligned with the new US MOSAIC rules that ease certification for powered-lift aircraft. Certification work in Europe and the UK continues in parallel, signaling growing international alignment around light sport and eVTOL regulation.
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Noise inside the cabin has become another design focus. Engineers are refining internal vibration levels and developing a responsive soundscape that shifts with each jet’s power load — part feedback, part theatre.
Urban air mobility projects across the Gulf and elsewhere are pushing regulators and manufacturers to meet in the middle. Dubai, Riyadh and Doha have each outlined plans for air taxi corridors this decade. AltoVolo’s hybrid Sigma, sitting between electric promise and aviation realism, looks built for that middle ground.
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