Abu Dhabi: The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, KFED, and startAD, the innovation and entrepreneurship platform at New York University Abu Dhabi, announced on Wednesday, the six final teams that will compete in the Ibtikari programme 5.0, a five-month-long incubation programme designed to help UAE nationals advance their tech start-ups.
The six were selected out of the eight teams that presented their tech start-up ideas during the programme’s pitching day held at the KFED’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
The final six projects are “Arabee”, a fun, interactive, comprehensive, progressive, multi-format Arabic language programme designed to teach Arabic to children aged 3 to 12 years; the environment-friendly “Blanco Oral Care” project, an innovative toothpaste tablet in a glass jar; “Plexo Gaming”, an online e-sport tournament platform allowing players in the Middle East to monetise their passion; “Snakat Cafe”, a platform that displays, markets, delivers and sells home-cooked food and desserts; “Solar Smart Cell” start-up, which designs and manufactures solar-powered smart vehicles; and the “SPL Technology” project, which is designed to semi-automate the cloud migration process.
Mouza Al Nasri, Acting CEO, KFED, said…
“Both KFED and startAD will continue to work closely with the six final teams until the conclusion of the Ibtikari programme in February 2020. We will see to it that the Emirati finalists receive the right support to ensure their success in the business world. We are glad to be a part of the Ibtikari programme in partnership with startAD, which, similar to us at KFED, aims to empower Emirati entrepreneurs and flourish a culture of entrepreneurship in the country.”
Ramesh Jagannathan, Vice Provost of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at NYUAD and Managing Director of startAD, said
“startAD is continuing its impactful journey with Khalifa Fund, a strategic partner, to help build the UAE Emirati entrepreneurial capacity. The Ibtikari 5.0, a customised, five-month incubation programme to support tech-enabled start-ups founded by Emirati entrepreneurs is a powerful example of our partnership. We are excited to see the tremendous progress made by the start-ups in the last month and look forward to them becoming successful role models in the rapidly crystallising UAE ecosystem.”
The finalists will advance to the incubation phase of the Ibtikari programme, where they will undergo a series of customised training sessions, workshops, and one-on-one meetings with their Ibtikari mentors. Additionally, the KFED will give the six teams grants worth AED10,000 as well as an AED25,000 grant to one of the finalists. Their projects will also be evaluated by the KFED and startAD for possible further funding.
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