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The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and Hub71 hosted the first MZN Hub71 Demo Day at MZN Hub Al Ain, where the cohort of 17 Emirati founders presented their startups developed over three months in sectors including AI, HealthTech, ClimateTech, FinTech and AgriTech. A judging panel drawn from both organisations evaluated the pitches before selecting the top three for awards, according to a joint statement from the partners. The event marks the conclusion of the inaugural programme while launching the next phase for participants within Hub71’s broader network of mentors, investors and government stakeholders.
Limb, which developed an AI-powered physiotherapy platform for remote monitoring and personalised rehabilitation, claimed first place with AED100,000 in in-kind support while Reach LLM, an AI platform helping brands optimise visibility across large language models, took second with AED60,000 and Hign Al Khaleej, a digital marketplace for camel trading across the Gulf, placed third with AED40,000. The statement from Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and Hub71 noted that these awards will help the winners scale their solutions within Abu Dhabi’s growing tech landscape. Four startups from the same MZN x Hub71 cohort had already been recognised as winners at the second Khalifa Fund Entrepreneurship Competition days earlier, Hub71’s website reported on July 21, 2026.
Across the 12-week MZN Hub71 programme, participants attended 21 workshops, panel discussions and pitch clinics covering product development, market validation, AI strategy, fundraising and corporate engagement with input from experts at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, Vertix Holdings, Kraken and Carzaty & Kavak. The initiative, which attracted more than 370 applications for its first cohort, creates an earlier entry point into Hub71’s founder journey before progression to later-stage support, according to details published on the Hub71 website. Basma Ahmed AlBadi AlDhaheri, Head of Value Creation at Hub71, said, “Today’s 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.”
The programme forms part of a strategic partnership that equips Emirati entrepreneurs with structured venture-building resources, expert mentorship and access to Hub71’s global tech ecosystem so they can convert ideas into minimum viable products. Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development highlighted how the Demo Day reflected both the progress achieved in recent months and the potential of this generation of homegrown founders. In June the cohort had showcased AI-powered solutions at Hub71’s Impact 2026 event at Manarat Al Saadiyat, illustrating the emirate’s accelerating innovation pipeline.
Maryam Alabbar, co-founder of Reach LLM, described how Abu Dhabi’s startup programmes have built an integrated ecosystem offering mentorship, funding and partnerships that enable companies to develop across digital marketing, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. Alabbar told organisers that her venture focuses on improving brand visibility in AI-powered search results on platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews while creating products built entirely on AI to help brands maintain consistent presence and measure growth impact. Such participant feedback aligns with the organisations’ aim of strengthening the pipeline of scalable businesses that support Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification priorities.
The MZN Hub71 initiative expands on Hub71’s established role in Abu Dhabi’s tech ecosystem by targeting founders at the earliest stages, with the Demo Day serving as both a showcase and a bridge to further resources including investor connections and corporate collaborations. A statement issued by the partners indicated that continuing support will help the 17 founders refine their ventures and pursue market opportunities in priority sectors. This approach has already produced tangible outcomes through the recent competition wins and positions additional Emirati-led startups for long-term contributions to the emirate’s innovation-driven growth.
