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Skills & Training

StartAD

Community Priority

Skills & Training

Partnership Start Date

2024

Total impact with Agility support (as of 2024)

30

% of impact for females

100%

Areas of focus

Employment, entrepreneurial and leadership skills

Countries

United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi

Summary of activities

  • 2025

    Empowering visionary Emirati women in business and innovation; and upskilling student entrepreneurs on the venture creation process including identifying market gaps, formulating business models, and creating minimum viable products.

What we do

In 2025, Agility Global launched a partnership with startAD aimed at fostering the next generation of Emirati women leaders. These initiatives will empower young innovators and business leaders by equipping them with the tools, mentorship, and skills needed to build scalable ventures. A particular emphasis is support for Emirati women in entrepreneurship.

Agility Global is supporting the Impact Hub for Emirati Women Achievers, a pioneering program dedicated to empowering visionary Emirati women in business and innovation.

Studies highlight a notable increase in women entrepreneurs in the UAE over the last decade, driven by government and private-sector initiatives. A recent study by Mastercard found that 84% of women in the UAE are considering starting their own business and indicated that a greater proportion of women (49%) than men (48%) identifies as entrepreneurs, reflecting the country’s rapidly evolving business landscape.

Despite significant strides in female entrepreneurship in the UAE, challenges remain. A recent report by Visa found that access to funding remains a critical challenge for UAE women entrepreneurs, with 57% of women-owned businesses in the UAE relying on personal finances. This makes programs like the Impact Hub essential for equipping women with the skills and networks needed to succeed.

Through this program, 30 Emirati women innovators benefit from expert coaching, skills training, focused on transformational leadership and catalyzing innovation ecosystems. The initiative facilitates participation in digital and in-person forums, creating opportunities for professional growth and collaboration.

About

startAD

startAD was launched in 2016 by Tamkeen in partnership with NYU Abu Dhabi. Tamkeen LLC is a company that partners with leading local and international institutions to deliver projects that enrich the social, cultural and educational landscape of the UAE. Tamkeen is New York University’s partner in the UAE, enabling NYU Abu Dhabi’s ongoing development as a local and global center of academic excellence and community engagement. In 2016, Tamkeen launched startAD, an Abu Dhabi-based accelerator to enable early-stage startups to develop and scale their commercial ventures alongside local and global partners.

startAD has played a pivotal role in enabling early-stage startups to develop and scale in collaboration with local and global partners. Anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi, startAD is committed to driving the UAE’s transition into a knowledge-based economy, in alignment with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. startAD equips startups, SMEs, and aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills, frameworks, and industry connections needed to turn innovative ideas into commercially viable ventures.

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