Dubai: The Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Dubai SME), part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), has launched Founders of Tomorrow, a transformational, sustainable national programme developed in partnership with INJAZ UAE. The programme is designed to integrate university entrepreneurship into real economic and institutional needs, providing a direct channel from academia to enterprise and accelerating the creation of scalable Emirati-owned businesses.
According to Emirates News Agency, the initiative aims to bridge the gap between academia and enterprise by connecting talented Emirati university students with pressing real-world challenges from government, semi-government, and corporate entities. By grounding innovation in operational and sector-specific realities, Founders of Tomorrow ensures that entrepreneurship is market-driven, outcome-focused, and aligned with Dubai's economic priorities under the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which seeks to double the size of the city's economy by 2033.
"This initiative exemplifies the collaborative spirit between government and private sector that defines Dubai's approach to economic transformation and further reinforces our commitment to providing sustained government support for entrepreneurs. It also aligns with a key priority of the D33 to nurture a new generation of forward-thinking, resilient Emirati entrepreneurs as part of a globally competitive SME landscape," stated Ahmad Al Room Almheiri, Acting CEO of Dubai SME.
Razan Bashiti, Chief Executive Officer of INJAZ UAE, emphasized, "Founders of Tomorrow embodies our commitment to turning Emirati youth potential into real economic impact. By connecting university innovation with live government and corporate challenges, the programme creates a direct pathway from education to scalable enterprise."
Through Founders of Tomorrow, Emirati students and early-stage university-based startups will work in multidisciplinary teams to address priority challenges across key sectors, in collaboration with participating government, semi-government, and corporate entities. INJAZ UAE will provide structured, hands-on guidance, mentoring, and challenge-based learning, supporting students throughout the ideation, validation, and solution development stages.
The most promising concepts will advance into the Dubai SME ecosystem, where they will receive comprehensive support to scale into viable, competitive businesses. Qualifying participants will gain access to Dubai SME's integrated suite of services designed to support entrepreneurs at every stage of their business journey. This includes business incubation, mentorship and capacity-building, facilitation of funding opportunities, market access support, and enablement of government procurement opportunities.
These services aim to empower entrepreneurs to achieve sustainable growth, enhance competitiveness, and contribute to the success of Emirati enterprises within Dubai's SME ecosystem, as part of Dubai's long-term economic diversification programme. Founders of Tomorrow is supported by leading national entities that will contribute real operational challenges, sector expertise, and mentorship resources.