Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) and startAD, the innovation and entrepreneurship platform at New York University Abu Dhabi, have announced the winning project in the fifth edition of Ibtikari Program, which was launched last September and attracted entrepreneurs from a wide variety of fields.
The winning project was ‘Arabee’ – a fun, interactive, and comprehensive Arabic language program, designed to teach Arabic to children aged 3 – 12 years old. The winning team was one of five finalists selected after demonstrations of a range of innovative projects across field including technology, entertainment, education, and health.
Mouza Al Nasri, Acting CEO of the Khalifa Fund, commented: “The Ibtikari Program 5.0 has been a great success. We are already looking forward to projects and ideas being submitted for the sixth edition later this year.
“I would like to congratulate the Arabee team for this innovative idea that will enhance the teaching of Arabic to children through stories and entertaining teaching aids. We wish them great success with a project that has much to offer in terms of economic and social development.”
“The Khalifa Fund and startAD exist to empower Emirati entrepreneurs and create a culture of entrepreneurship in the UAE, in line with the Fund’s strategy to boost the growth of startups and SMEs along with establishing an integrated entrepreneurship system that supports prosperity and innovation in Abu Dhabi and UAE,” she added.
Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at NYUAD and Managing Director of startAD, Ramesh Jagannathan, commented: “The Ibtikari 5.0 program by Khalifa Fund and startAD is a significant milestone in the UAE tech entrepreneurship landscape. In the current cohort, we have a diverse group of technology startups such as SPL.Co providing single platform software architecture management solutions, and Plexo Gaming building a strong community of local gamers with the potential to go global, to sustainability-focused startups like SCar providing scalable sustainable mobility options on campuses, to Blanco with an innovative oral care range.
“In the last two years, we have graduated 20 Emirati-founded startups, 10 of them successfully receiving grants from Khalifa Fund. Three startups were showcased at the New York University global Entrepreneurship festival in New York. We are looking forward to supporting future cohorts to continue to develop a sustainable state of the technology solutions to regional and global needs”, he concluded.
The five month Ibtikari Program includes a series of sessions, workshops, and trainings to foster participants’ talent and encourage innovative ideas and skills. The program supports UAE citizens to develop and improve their technological skills, support emerging companies, and promote entrepreneurship in UAE.
