Responsible AI Cup 2.0: Call for MENA SMEs Now Open

EuroMedAI is an Ecosystem Partner of the Responsible AI (RAI) Cup 2.0, and we are opening the call to our network on both shores of the Mediterranean. Applications are open now and close on 10 September 2026.

The RAI Cup is the MENA region’s first incentive-based competition built specifically for small and medium enterprises that build or use AI in their products and operations. Rather than rewarding a pitch deck, it rewards practice: how a company actually handles privacy, accountability, safety, transparency, fairness, human oversight and human values in a product that is already live.

What Participating SMEs Get

• Training and mentorship from leading responsible AI experts across the region.
• Networking with pioneers, peers, policymakers and partners across sectors.
• Visibility for their innovation and leadership in responsible AI.
• A contribution to research that informs how responsible AI is applied in practice across MENA.
• Monetary prizes for the winning SMEs.

Travel arrangements for participants based outside Egypt are covered by the MENA Observatory on Responsible AI.

The Awards

Fourth and fifth places receive honorary awards. Finalists pitch their responsible AI practices at the RAI Cup Awards Ceremony on 24 November 2026, in the Oriental Hall of the AUC Tahrir Campus in Cairo.

Who Can Apply

• Eligibility: SMEs in the MENA region — fewer than 250 employees and under €50 million in annual turnover.
• AI focus: either building AI solutions, or integrating third-party AI tools into operations.
• Product readiness: a working example or early version demonstrating AI use, beyond the prototype stage.
• Focus sectors: fintech, healthtech, edtech, greentech, retail, manufacturing and media.

The organisers particularly encourage applications from women-led businesses and from SMEs across the whole MENA region, not only Egypt.

The Eight Responsible AI Themes

Evaluation runs against eight themes drawn from the Berkman Klein Center white paper Principled Artificial Intelligence: Mapping Consensus in Ethical and Rights-Based Approaches to Principles for AI:

Two Phases, Two Information Sessions

Phase 1 — Expression of Interest. Applications are open now and close on 10 September 2026. Two online information sessions introduce the responsible AI principles and walk through the Self-Assessment Form: 25 August 2026 and 6 September 2026, both 13:00–14:00 Cairo time. Attending one of them is the recommended way into the competition.

Phase 2 — Self-Assessment Form. This is the main evaluation stage. Hands-on workshops run in parallel, open to all participating teams regardless of ranking, giving applicants practical training on responsible AI principles and on completing the form itself.

What the First Edition Delivered

The inaugural RAI Cup closed with an Awards Ceremony on 18 January 2026 at The Auditorium, Founders Spaces, in Downtown Cairo.

Applicants came from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia and the UAE, across legal tech, HR tech, healthcare, business consulting, sustainability and agriculture, education, digital accessibility and urban wellbeing. Four companies pitched to the judging panel: Rology took first place, Zaher AI second, and Cloudilic and AgriCan tied for third. All four also received 95% sponsorship from ITIDA to exhibit at AI Everything Middle East and Africa 2026.

Beyond the podium, 22 SMEs took part in the information sessions and nine completed the responsible AI workshop with certificates of participation.

What the Second Edition Adds

The 2026 edition widens the frame in four ways: regional reach beyond Egypt across the whole MENA region; stronger partnerships with women-led and women-focused organisations; capacity building for every participating team, not only the finalists, through the self-assessment process and an open workshop; and a Responsible AI Toolkit for MENA businesses, developed in parallel and informed by what RAI Cup participants report. An open-access Responsible AI Casebook is also planned.

How to Apply

Expressions of interest are submitted through the organisers’ form: forms.gle/4Z9a6AiuPmsG1TnS9. The deadline is 10 September 2026. Questions about the call go to info@menaobservatory.ai.

Organisers, Patronage and Funding

The RAI Cup 2.0 is run by the MENA Observatory on Responsible AI, the flagship project of the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) at the Onsi Sawiris School of Business, The American University in Cairo. For the second year running it is held under the auspices of Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the monetary prizes are funded by the Observatory with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.