AIM Congress 2026 Opens at Dubai World Trade Centre on 7 September: 15th Edition, Three Pillars and a Record AED 177.3 Billion of FDI Behind It

2026-09-04

The 15th AIM Congress opens on Monday, 7 September 2026, at the Dubai World Trade Centre and runs until Wednesday, 9 September, from 10:00 to 18:30 each day, under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The organiser, AIM Global Foundation, has built the programme around three pillars, Global Markets, Future Economies and NexGen, and the previous edition in 2025 gathered 15,831 participants from 181 countries, with 1,385 speakers across 431 sessions. The congress opens with the UAE’s investment indicators at record levels: FDI inflows of AED 177.3 billion in 2025 and 9th place in the world according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2026, FDI stock of AED 1.171 trillion, 1,562 new greenfield projects (2nd globally for the third year running) and non-oil foreign trade of AED 1.937 trillion in the first half of 2026, up 13.1% year on year. Below: how the congress is organised, who attends, what the numbers behind it are, and what a company operating in or entering the UAE can practically do with three days at DWTC. The facts are taken from Gulf News (4 September 2026), the organiser’s press release of 11 August 2026 and its official pages, the UAE Ministry of Investment’s FDI Report 2026 and the Government of Dubai Media Office.

AIM Congress 2026 at a glance

AIM Congress, originally the Annual Investment Meeting, is the flagship event of the AIM Global Foundation, which describes itself as an independent international organisation focused on investment promotion. The congress has been held in the UAE every year since 2011 and positions itself as a platform where governments, investment promotion agencies and private capital meet. The key parameters of the 2026 edition:

Who attends and what happens on the floor

According to Gulf News, the 2026 edition brings together development finance institutions, investment promotion agencies, sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, technology companies and government representatives from regional and international markets. The organiser lists the following formats:

• Conference. Opening ceremony, plenary session, thematic sessions in the three pillars, high-level roundtables and side forums. The discussions cover global capital flows, emerging markets, technology, sustainability and cross-border investment.
• Exhibition. Stands of ministries and economic development authorities, investment promotion agencies, economic and free zones, development funds and sovereign wealth funds, and private companies from multinationals to SMEs and startups; banks, private equity and venture capital funds are listed among the exhibitor categories.
• Investment Destination briefings. Country and regional showcases of sectors, incentives and projects; the 2026 page currently features, for example, the Republic of Cameroon and the Port of Kribi.
• Matchmaking. Pre-arranged one-to-one meetings between investors, businesses and government bodies.
• MoU signings. Ceremonies between governments, companies and international organisations, a feature of the congress since 2011.
• Pitch competitions and the startup track. Sessions where startups present to venture capital, private equity, sovereign funds, family offices and angel investors.
• Awards. The AIM Investment Awards, presented since 2013 to investment promotion agencies for the best FDI projects of the year by region (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, MENA) at the Gala Dinner, and the AIM Investor Impact Award for investors and investment institutions.
• African Pavilion. A dedicated Africa and GCC track with curated meetings between African project sponsors and Gulf sovereign funds, private capital and institutional investors, plus ministerial roundtables.

Three pillars: what each track covers

The passes follow the pillars. The benefits listed by the organiser range from VIP seating at the opening ceremony with access to all thematic sessions, high-level roundtables and the Gala Dinner, down to passes limited to a single thematic track; the plenary session, side forums, Investment Destination briefings and the exhibition are included in every listed pass. Pass prices are not published on the pages we reviewed.

The numbers the congress opens with

The organiser’s press release of 11 August 2026 and the Gulf News report of 4 September cite the same set of figures, all from official sources: UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2026, the UAE Ministry of Investment’s FDI Report 2026 and the non-oil trade results reviewed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid on 19 July 2026.

For context: global FDI returned to growth in 2025 after three years of decline, to roughly USD 1.6 trillion (AED 5.9 trillion), but the recovery concentrated in fewer economies and in fewer, larger commitments, according to the Ministry of Investment. The National Investment Strategy 2031 sets a target of AED 240 billion (USD 65 billion) in annual inflows, and in November 2025 the UAE Cabinet approved a National Investment Fund with initial capital of USD 10 billion (AED 36.7 billion). We covered the FDI record itself in detail in our August article on the AED 177.3 billion record; the emirate-level trade picture is in Abu Dhabi’s non-oil foreign trade results for H1 2026, and the latest activity reading is the UAE PMI for August 2026.

Dawood Al Shezawi, Chairman of AIM Global Foundation, said: “The record momentum behind this year’s Congress reflects a broader shift in how global capital views the UAE, not simply as a destination for investment, but as a partner in shaping where the next generation of growth will come from.” With FDI inflows and non-oil trade both at historic highs, he added, the focus of the three days is on “translating that momentum into tangible pathways, connecting capital allocators, policymakers, and innovators around the strategies that will define sustainable and inclusive economic growth for the decade ahead.”

What it means for companies in the UAE

AIM Congress is a working event rather than a public trade fair, and what a company gets out of it depends on preparation. Three practical points that follow from the organiser’s rules and from our work with clients who use the September event season for market entry:

• Registration and access. Pre-registration is online; badges are personal and non-transferable, cover all three days and may be checked against a government-issued ID. There is no virtual attendance. Companies sending several people can use group packages.
• Meetings are booked in advance. Matchmaking with investors, investment promotion agencies and government bodies is arranged through the organiser before the event, so the shortlist of counterparties and a one-page company profile need to be ready before 7 September, not on the day.
• A meeting is not a company. A foreign business that comes to Dubai for the congress and wants to follow up with contracts, invoicing, hiring or a local bank account needs a licensed entity on the mainland or in a free zone, a corporate bank account and residence visas for the team. None of this is issued at the congress: free zones and investment promotion agencies present their offers on the exhibition floor, and the registration itself runs through their portals afterwards.

A short checklist for a company planning to use AIM Congress 2026:

• Register online and choose the pass by the tracks you need: Global Markets for trade and manufacturing, Future Economies for fintech and digital, NexGen for startups and venture capital.
• Shortlist the exhibitors you want to meet, from investment promotion agencies and free zones to development funds and banks, and request matchmaking slots.
• Prepare a one-page company profile and a short deck in English with concrete figures: revenue, markets, and what you are looking for (capital, partners, a jurisdiction).
• Decide the legal form and jurisdiction in advance, so that a conversation with a free zone or a bank can move to an application within days.
• Have the compliance documents ready for a bank account: passports of shareholders and directors, corporate documents, a description of the business model and the source of funds.

The congress is one item in a dense month: the full calendar is in our guide to the September 2026 business events season in the UAE.

How Atlant Capital can help

Atlant Capital works with founders and companies entering the UAE, including those who use AIM Congress and the September exhibitions as their entry point. We handle company setup on the mainland and in UAE free zones, with the jurisdiction and licence activities matched to the business model; corporate bank account opening, with the compliance file prepared in advance; and work visas and residence permits for founders and staff. Bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax filings are handled by licensed accounting firms from our partner network. If your market entry plan is built around the congress week, we align the setup timeline with the event dates.

Conclusion

AIM Congress 2026 runs from 7 to 9 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre: the 15th edition, structured around Global Markets, Future Economies and NexGen, with government delegations, investment promotion agencies, sovereign and institutional investors and technology companies on the floor, and a 2025 baseline of 15,831 participants from 181 countries. The numbers behind it are official and at record levels: AED 177.3 billion of FDI inflows in 2025, 9th place globally, AED 1.171 trillion of FDI stock, 1,562 greenfield projects and AED 1.937 trillion of non-oil trade in the first half of 2026. For a company, the congress is three days of access to the institutions that shape those numbers; the contracts, licences and bank accounts that follow are signed afterwards, and the companies that prepare them before the event get the most out of it.

FAQ

When and where is AIM Congress 2026 held?

The 15th AIM Congress takes place on 7-9 September 2026 (Monday to Wednesday) at the Dubai World Trade Centre, in Al Multaqua Ballroom, Halls 1 to 4, the Pavilion and the Trade Centre Arena, from 10:00 to 18:30 daily. It is organised by the AIM Global Foundation under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

What are the three pillars of AIM Congress 2026?

Global Markets (FDI, Global Trade, Global Manufacturing), Future Economies (Digital Economy, Future Finance, Future Cities) and NexGen (Entrepreneurs, Startups and Unicorns, Artificial Intelligence). The theme of the 2026 edition is “Reshaping Global Prosperity: Unlocking New Investment Pathways Towards a Sustainable and Inclusive Future”. The 2025 edition gathered 15,831 participants from 181 countries, 1,385 speakers and 431 sessions.

How much foreign direct investment did the UAE attract in 2025?

AED 177.3 billion (USD 48.3 billion), up 6% and a fourth consecutive record, which placed the UAE 9th in the world according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2026. FDI stock reached AED 1.171 trillion at the end of 2025, and the country ranked 2nd globally by the number of greenfield projects, 1,562, for the third year running. Non-oil foreign trade in the first half of 2026 reached AED 1.937 trillion, up 13.1%.

How can a company take part in AIM Congress 2026?

Through online registration on the organiser’s website, with three pass tiers (Premium VIP, All Access and Standard) and group packages; badges are personal and a government-issued ID may be requested at entry. Companies can exhibit, request matchmaking meetings with investors and investment promotion agencies, attend Investment Destination briefings and, for startups, pitch sessions. Contracts, licences and bank accounts that follow from the meetings are arranged after the event through the usual mainland and free zone procedures.