Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and Hub71 have hosted the first MZN Hub71 Demo Day, where 17 Emirati founders presented startups developed during a three-month programme in Abu Dhabi.
Held at MZN Hub Al Ain, the event brought together investors, ecosystem partners and government stakeholders. The founders pitched ventures across AI, HealthTech, FinTech, ClimateTech and AgriTech after completing 12 weeks of venture-building support, mentorship, workshops and pitch clinics.
Limb, an AI-powered physiotherapy platform for remote monitoring and personalised rehabilitation, took first place and received AED 100,000 in in-kind support. Reach LLM, which helps brands improve their visibility across large language models, ranked second and received AED 60,000. Hign Al Khaleej, a digital marketplace for buying, selling and auctioning camels across the Gulf, placed third and received AED 40,000.
The programme included 21 workshops, panel discussions and pitch clinics covering product development, market validation, AI strategy, go-to-market planning, fundraising and corporate engagement. According to the announcement, MZN Hub71 is designed to give aspiring Emirati entrepreneurs an earlier entry point into Hub71’s ecosystem before they move into later-stage programmes.
The first cohort will continue accessing Hub71’s network of mentors, investors, corporate partners and government stakeholders as the founders develop their businesses from Abu Dhabi.
Source: Hub71
