Khalifa Fund and Hub71 welcome 17 Emirati startups to MZN Hub71

Published: 2026-05-22T13:53:27.000Z

Khalifa Fund and Hub71 have welcomed 17 Emirati founders into the first MZN Hub71 cohort selected from more than 370 applications. The three-month programme based in Al Ain supports early-stage startups across healthtech fintech climatetech and agritech.

Abu Dhabi has spent several years concentrating its startup ecosystem infrastructure within the capital, and the results have been visible. Hub71 has become one of the region's most credible tech ecosystems, with a growing portfolio of funded startups and a global network that reaches well beyond the Gulf. What has been less developed is a pathway for Emirati founders based outside Abu Dhabi city to access that same infrastructure in a form that works for them. The first cohort of the MZN Hub71 programme, launched by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and Hub71, is a direct attempt to change that. The inaugural cohort was selected from more than 370 applications, with 17 Emirati founders chosen to develop early-stage startups across priority and emerging sectors in the UAE. That application volume, more than twenty times the number of spots available, reflects genuine demand for a structured early-stage support program anchored in Al Ain rather than in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Nearly 90% of selected founders are under the age of 35, and more than 75% are launching their first ventures, reinforcing the programme's role in expanding access to entrepreneurship beyond those who already have experience or existing networks. Khaleej Times Wamda The startups span sectors aligned with Abu Dhabi's economic priorities including healthtech, climatetech, fintech, and agritech, alongside ventures integrating artificial intelligence across industries. That sector mix is deliberate. Each of these categories connects to a national transformation agenda that the UAE government has been actively funding and supporting through policy, regulation, and public investment, meaning startups that graduate from the programme enter a market with institutional appetite already primed for their solutions. Wamda Female founders account for 35% of the cohort, and 59% of selected founders were referred through partner networks developed by Khalifa Fund and Hub71, underscoring the strength of collaboration between the two institutions and their ecosystem partners in identifying emerging entrepreneurial talent. That referral rate also suggests the programme's pre-launch outreach was effective at reaching founders who might not have found their way to a formal application process independently, which is precisely the access gap this kind of initiative is designed to close. Fast Company Middle East The MZN Hub71 Programme supports 10 to 15 Emirati startups in each cohort, guiding founders through an intensive three-month journey to transform their ideas into minimum viable products, hosted at the newly established MZN Hub in Al Ain created by Khalifa Fund as part of its AI-driven ecosystem strategy. The three-month structure moves through idea validation, prototype development, market testing, and launch preparation in a sequenced progression that gives founders a structured framework without requiring the kind of extended time commitment that longer programs demand from people who may still be working or studying alongside their startup. Tech Research Online Ahmad Ali Alwan, CEO of Hub71, described the programme as creating new pathways for Emiratis to transform their ideas into pioneering companies, by equipping them with mentorship, resources, and access to markets. For the UAE startup ecosystem, the significance of MZN Hub71 extends beyond the seventeen founders in this first cohort. Decentralizing access to serious startup infrastructure, making Al Ain a genuine entry point into Abu Dhabi's innovation ecosystem rather than a geographic afterthought, is the kind of systemic change that builds an entrepreneurship culture across a country rather than concentrating it in a handful of districts in one city. PPC Land