Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development has announced the launch of Venturist, a two-week entrepreneurship summer camp in July and August for citizen and resident students aged 10 to 14 and 14 to 18 years old, based in Abu Dhabi. Students will learn essential entrepreneurship skills, including the elements behind starting a business, problem solving skills, and maximising digital literacy for a marketplace that is increasingly tech-savvy.
The Venturist Summer Camp will take place during two groups, from 5th – 27th July, and 5th – 20th August.
In the opening week, students will participate in virtual classes concerning an introduction to entrepreneurship and business ideation, before gaining an understanding of design thinking, and business modelling, including case studies from successful global start-ups. Students will then be put into teams to explore how to create meaningful social and economic value, conducting market research, developing a prototype product or service, and how to iterate and improve their ideas and business model based on how the market reacts. In the second week, students will undergo lessons on management and execution, as well as fundamentals on how to scale-up a business and how to create a launch plan with a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy. The Venturist, Khalifa Fund entrepreneurship summer camp will conclude with students pitching their business ideas to a committee of representatives and entrepreneurs that have had first-hand experience of working alongside Khalifa Fund.
Mubarak Al Ameri, the Executive Director of Outreach Management Department in Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, said: “As the leading enterprise development organisation in the region, we aim to spread entrepreneurship culture and shape the future of the UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by investing heavily into immersive education programmes, from a grassroots level to established SMEs. By providing this emerging generation with opportunities to learn about entrepreneurial skills, we’re creating an environment that empowers youth to think ahead and understand the business world from an early age.”
He added: “We see this generation as the one that will continue the UAE’s exponential growth in the SME sector, and thus further diversify our national economy. This can only be achieved by nurturing today’s bright, young talent, into tomorrow’s leading business minds. Initiatives and programmes like Venturist will help us to further enhance the sector, as we provide youth with access to Khalifa Fund mentors and showcase to students that the private sector is ripe with opportunities; they can become anything they strive to be.”
