Khalifa Fund, Hub71 award Emirati startup founders up to AED100,000

Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) and Hub71, Abu Dhabi's global tech ecosystem, hosted the first MZN Hub71 Demo Day, bringing together the inaugural cohort of 17 Emirati founders, who presented startups developed through the three-month programme.

The MZN Hub71 programme Demo Day took place at MZN Hub Al Ain, bringing together investors, ecosystem partners and government stakeholders as founders presented ventures across AI, HealthTech, ClimateTech, FinTech and AgriTech before a judging panel comprising representatives from Khalifa Fund and Hub71.

Following the competition, the top three startups were awarded in-kind support packages valued at up to AED100,000 to support the next stage of their growth.

Limb, an AI-powered physiotherapy platform enabling remote monitoring and personalised rehabilitation, secured first place, followed by Reach LLM, an AI platform that helps brands optimise visibility and performance across large language models, in second place, and Hign Al Khaleej, a digital marketplace for buying, selling and auctioning camels across the Gulf, in third.

The startups received AED100,000, AED60,000 and AED40,000 in in-kind support, respectively.

Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development said that the Demo Day reflects the progress these founders have made over the past three months and the potential of the next generation of Emirati entrepreneurs.

Through its strategic partnership with Hub71, the Fund continues to support aspiring Emirati founders from the earliest stages, providing them with the necessary support to transform promising ideas into sustainable businesses that contribute to Abu Dhabi’s long-term economic growth.

Basma Ahmed AlBadi AlDhaheri, Head of Value Creation at Hub71, said, “Today's Demo Day demonstrates what's possible when founders are given the right environment to build. Seeing what these Emirati founders were capable of achieving after three months is exactly why early-stage support matters.”

Across the 12-week programme, the inaugural cohort participated in 21 workshops, panel discussions and pitch clinics covering every stage of the startup journey, including product development, market validation, AI strategy, go-to-market planning, fundraising and corporate engagement.

Drawing on expertise from leading organisations such as the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, Vertix Holdings, Kraken, and Carzaty & Kavak, the programme equipped founders with the practical skills and insights to build, test and grow their startups.

The MZN Hub71 Demo Day marks the beginning of the next phase for the programme's first cohort, who will continue benefiting from Hub71's wider ecosystem of mentors, investors, corporate partners and government stakeholders as they build and scale their businesses from Abu Dhabi.