The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has invited startups to tackle infrastructure challenges in Medina, one of Islam’s holiest cities, as it ramps up efforts to expand religious tourism.
Madinah-Tech, an accelerator backed by the regional municipality and private investors, has opened applications for its first cohort as the city struggles to keep pace with growing visitor numbers.
The programme offers funding, mentorship and office space target solutions in smart city tech, mobility, sustainability and infrastructure.
Academic partners include Stanford StartX, Cambridge University and NYU Tandon.
Importance of Medina
While not a formal part of the pilgrimage, visiting Medina, home to the Prophet Mohammed’s burial site, is a longstanding tradition and is typically included in Hajj and Umrah travel packages.
Mecca and Medina are central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to diversify the economy and host up to 30 million pilgrims annually by the end of the decade.
With a population of 1.6 million, the city faces rising temperatures and limited green space, according to the accelerator’s website, which calls the city a “living lab for urban solutions.”
Like Mecca, where the Grand Mosque expansion was recently completed, this holy city is undergoing a wave of development to accommodate the millions of religious visitors it receives each year.
During Ramadan, spending in both cities surged past Riyadh and Jeddah, Visa’s Q1 2025 Travel Pulse report shows. In Mecca, average spend per visitor jumped to $449 from $356. Medina saw a 64 percent increase in visitor spending.
“Beyond their religious significance, Mecca and Medina are also engines of economic growth,” said Ali Bailoun, Visa’s regional general manager for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman.
