Top Pitches: Winners of Emirati Development Program To Receive One-On-One Mentorship To Develop And Grow Their Ventures Five ambitious UAE nationals have won one-on-one mentorship support to grow their business ventures.
By Megha Merani
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Five ambitious UAE nationals have won one-on-one mentorship support to grow their business ventures as part of the first phase of Dubai Startup Hub's Emirati Development Program (EDP).
The Emirati Development Program is designed to identify, develop and mentor promising UAE national talent interested in pursuing entrepreneurship or private sector opportunities as a career path. The programme features four-week tailored entrepreneurship training for 30 selected Emiratis designed to help aspiring founders learn about pitching, business canvassing, customer validation, sales and other topics of importance for startups. The training sessions are followed by a pitch competition, in which participants present their business concepts to an expert panel of judges.
The winning pitches earn founders comprehensive one-on-one mentorship support to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to drive their idea or business forward.
This cohort's winners included Sultan Alhosani and Fahad Alzarooni of TutorMe, a platform connecting highly qualified tutors to students; Alanoud Mubarak of CoDevelop, a provider of digital services and products; Hassan Kiyany of Editvid, an on-demand video creation service platform powered by humans and artificial intelligence; Latifa Bin Haider of Baytuki, an AI-driven smart real estate platform; and Roudha Alawadhi of Mzarrai, a fashion retailer.
Commenting on the pitches, Hans Henrik Christensen, Vice President of Dtec, said in a statement: "It's refreshing and reassuring to witness such talented entrepreneurs develop and present innovative solutions to real-world challenges. We are proud of the extent of research the participants did to reach their final proposition, the enthusiasm in which they presented, and the flexibility to adjust as they progressed. Their one-of-a-kind businesses, coupled with the ambition these entrepreneurs hold, is a formula for success. As a tech-focused coworking space, Dtec is always on the lookout for individuals of this calibre with unique business ideas, to nurture them to realization and support them in reaching new horizons of achievement."
Natalia Sycheva, Manager of Entrepreneurship at Dubai Chamber, added: "Over the last four weeks, these aspiring entrepreneurs have gained new perspectives, fostered collaborations and built a solid foundation for innovative business concepts that show true potential. We are very encouraged by the high calibre of participants who participated in the first phase of the programme. We look forward to seeing these unique ideas develop further into thriving businesses."
The panel of judges included Dtec's Christensen and Dubai Chamber's Sycheva, along with Ghanim Al Falasi, Senior Vice President – People Happiness & Innovation, Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; Mohamed Sabouneh, Program Director, Startupbootcamp, and Dr Ihab Fikry, CEO of Almentor FZCO.
Established by Dubai Chamber in 2016, Dubai Startup Hub is the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, offering a wide range of programmes catering to the changing needs of Dubai's entrepreneurial community.
This article was originally published on Dubai Startup Hub and has been reposted on Entrepreneur Middle East based on a mutual agreement between the websites.
