Opportunities from Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development

Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, in collaboration with the UAE Cyber Security Council and with supervision by CyberE71, is accepting Cohort 1 applications for a 12-week in-person cybersecurity accelerator hosted at MZN Hub in Al Ain. The official programme page describes support across venture building, technical expertise, product and market validation, investment and commercial readiness, and connections to government, industry and investors. Focus areas include cybersecurity, AI security, quantum and post-quantum cryptography, autonomous systems and robotics, critical-infrastructure OT/ICS security and open innovation. An optional four-week Prep School is available before the accelerator. The programme is fully funded and equity-free. Selection includes screening, a scored assessment, a 30-minute interview and a selection committee. Programme dates beyond the live application state are shown as TBC on the official page, so no closing date or cohort start date is inferred here.

The programme is designed for Emirati founders building security-technology startups. The official application asks applicants to confirm that at least one founder is Emirati, whether the company can establish a business presence in Al Ain, and whether the team can attend the programme in person. Startup stages shown in the application range from idea-only through post-revenue.