Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) and Hub71 have hosted the first MZN Hub71 Demo Day, bringing together the inaugural cohort of 17 Emirati founders who presented startups developed during the three-month-long MZN Hub71 program.
The new program empowers early-stage entrepreneurs developing ventures across priority and emerging sectors, helping to strengthen Abu Dhabi’s startup ecosystem and build a pipeline of homegrown companies that will support the emirate’s long-term economic growth, innovation, and diversification goals.
Delivered by Khalifa Fund and Hub71, the program expands Hub71’s founder journey by creating an earlier entry point for aspiring Emirati entrepreneurs before they progress into later-stage programs.
Through structured venture-building support, expert mentorship and access to Hub71’s global tech ecosystem, founders transform innovative ideas into minimum viable products (MVPs) while gaining the skills, networks and opportunities needed to build scalable businesses.
Basma Ahmed AlBadi AlDhaheri, Head of Value Creation at Hub71, said that, “The 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. When founders have access to the right guidance, networks and opportunities from the beginning, they’re better positioned to build companies that create lasting impact for Abu Dhabi and beyond.”
Limb, an AI-powered physiotherapy platform enabling remote monitoring and personalized rehabilitation, secured first place, followed by Reach LLM, an AI platform that helps brands optimize 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.
Across the 12-week program, 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 organizations such as the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, Vertix Holdings, Kraken, and Carzaty & Kavak, the program equipped founders with the practical skills and insights to build, test, and grow their startups.
