• First Middle East stop takes place on 26 October at Creators HQ in Dubai, with further events planned across MENA
• Free to attend for approved SME applicants, with Design School workshops and interactive product experiences
• Iqbal: “Our focus is empowering SMEs across MENA with the skills and AI tools to bring their ideas to life.”
Dubai, UAE – 6 Oct 2026 – Canva is bringing its global World Tour to the Middle East for the first time to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) build creative skills and put AI to work. Taking place on 26 October 2026 at Creators HQ in Emirates Towers, Dubai, the event marks the start of a series of Canva events planned across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Free to attend for approved SME applicants, Canva World Tour will give founders, marketers and teams practical ways to create content, strengthen their brands and communicate with customers. The event builds on growing use of Canva in the UAE, where people publish over 5 million designs on the platform every month.
Ahmad Iqbal, General Manager for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan at Canva, said:
“Our focus is empowering SMEs across MENA with the skills and AI tools to bring their ideas to life. Canva World Tour combines our tools and Design School learning with the chance to learn by doing. We want business owners and their teams to leave with practical skills and the confidence to use AI in their work. We’ll bring this same approach to more business communities across MENA.”
Practical skills for everyday business
The programme brings together main stage sessions, Canva Design School workshops and interactive activations where attendees can try Canva’s products and features. Sessions will explore social media content creation, working with Canva’s Visual Suite from idea to finished content, and a case study on how Amr Maskoun uses Canva to create content at scale.
Workshops will help participants build reusable brand templates, create more persuasive presentations and explore website creation with Canva AI and Canva Code. Interactive product experiences will give teams space to experiment and discover tools they can use in their daily work.
Putting improvements in Canva AI to work
Improvements in Canva AI 2.0 let people develop ideas through conversation, generate editable designs and refine individual elements while retaining creative control. Canva Code 2.0 makes it easier to build and customise websites and interactive experiences using natural-language prompts. Through hands-on learning, attendees will explore how to use these capabilities for business needs such as preparing a pitch, creating a campaign or developing a digital presence.
Learning beyond the event
As part of Canva World Tour, Canva aims to train over 3,000 people across the UAE by the end of November 2026 through a combination of in-person workshops and online learning.
People unable to attend the Dubai event can access free, self-paced courses in English through Canva Design School, with opportunities to earn certifications online. The learning resources are open to everyone, extending access beyond those attending in person.