The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED), in collaboration with the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award, has launched the 2nd Khalifa Fund Entrepreneurship Competition.
The initiative aims to attract exceptional talent in innovation and entrepreneurship to develop solutions that address real market needs.
Khalifa Fund’s collaboration with the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award represents a highly strategic alliance. The award stands as a testament to the nation’s longstanding legacy of leadership and progress, inspired by the vision of the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the principles established by the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Mouza Obaid Al Nasri CEO – Khalifa Fund
“The launch of the 2nd edition of the Khalifa Fund Entrepreneurship Competition reflects our continued commitment to empowering Emirati entrepreneurs and transforming their ideas into sustainable economic ventures. The competition reaffirms our role as a strategic partner for ambitious entrepreneurs, contributing to the diversification of the national economy and the enhancement of enterprises’ competitiveness. Through this initiative, we aim to provide an integrated development pathway that combines funding, mentorship, infrastructure, and market access opportunities across vital sectors, such as fintech, energy, and agriculture.”
The Khalifa Fund Entrepreneurship Competition aims to provide enterprises with access to an integrated suite of resources designed to accelerate their development and market readiness.
The program offers a comprehensive support package that includes over $25 million (AED1 million) in prizes and in-kind support, along with access to advanced physical and digital infrastructure. This includes premium workspaces, modern digital tools, specialized workshops, high-level advisory services, and exclusive networking and partnership-building events.
The program also delivers tailored strategic guidance to enhance enterprises’ readiness in transforming prototypes into viable, market-ready solutions.
The competition is open to entrepreneurs who are 18 years or older and currently reside in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, or Al Dhafra. Participating enterprises must be owned by an Emirati national or co-owned by at least one Emirati owner and must possess a working prototype or viable product.
According to the statement, the submissions are also required to align with sector challenges and must demonstrate the potential for scalable business models. Enterprises will be evaluated based on four key factors – sectoral impact, market potential and scalability, team assessment, and technical feasibility and execution.
