Dubai’s Dtec, SDCEE launch programmes for entrepreneurs

Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (Dtec), Dubai Silicon Oasis’ tech hub and coworking space, and SD Center for Entrepreneurship Excellence (SDCEE), have launched new immersive programmes to support and encourage entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in the UAE .

Ghanim Al Falasi, SVP of Technology and Entrepreneurship at Dubai Silicon Oasis, and Shailesh Dash, board member and mentor at SDCEE, jointly launched the new programmes that mandate both parties to develop special courses and programmes to instill the entrepreneurial culture among young founders and corporate executives.

SDCEE, a learning and research organisation created in collaboration between New Learning and Erasmus Center for Entrepreneurship Rotterdam (ECE), is approved by KHDA. Its programmes aim to benefit nascent, startup and scale-up entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. These include new venture creation, growth and internationalisation strategies, entrepreneurial finance, family business, impact investing and social entrepreneurship and corporate finance.

The programmes will be delivered by faculty and researchers from ECE and the wider GCC region.

Al Falasi said: “As one of five urban centers in the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, Dubai Silicon Oasis has been mandated as a science, technology and knowledge hub that drives innovation. Through its coworking tech hub for entrepreneurs, Dtec, hosting more than 1,000 startups from 75 countries, DSO is keen on providing a conducive ecosystem for entrepreneurs and startups in Dubai and the wider UAE. In line with The Entrepreneurial Nation initiative by the Ministry of Economy, the new programmes will offer Dtec’s community and wider entrepreneurial ecosystem an edge, enabling them to establish promising and profitable businesses.”

He added: “Our collaboration with SDCEE is part of our commitment to ensure Dtec’s community has a truly impactful ecosystem to utilise and benefits from a wide array of additional elements, such as access to a network of like-minded individuals, VCs, and mentors. We believe equipping entrepreneurs with the right knowledge is the first step in the journey to housing unicorns in the future, in line with the nation’s drive to become home to 20 unicorns by 2031.”

Nurturing entrepreneurs

Dash said that the National Entrepreneurship Agenda launched by the Ministry of Economy emphasises the UAE’s commitment to become an ‘Entrepreneurial Nation’ by 2031.

“We are very excited to collaborate with Dtec where our center will be situated. We believe everyone can become an entrepreneur and our education program will develop their mindset and skill-set to become enterprising individuals and get encouraged to create their own business at Dtec.

“ECE not only provides education in entrepreneurship but through passionate research and knowledge dissemination, helps create many promising startups, fast-growing scale-ups and innovative established firms, and that first-rate knowledge and experience will further compliment the current strength of Dtec,” Dash said.

The center will work closely with Dtec, and its community of entrepreneurs, on other initiatives such as conferences, internships, networking events, mentoring sessions, competitions and entrepreneur days and venture funding support to foster entrepreneurial behaviour in the UAE.

In other news, Entrepreneurial Nation announced the names of candidates who made it to the final round of Startup Leap.

Read: Entrepreneurial Nation’s Startup Leap sees participation from 1,200 startups