Khalifa Fund Launches Future Founders Market for Young Entrepreneurs
Two-stage market in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi lets young entrepreneurs sell, test, and refine products with live customer feedback.
Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development has launched the Future Founders Market, its first market organized by the fund. The initiative is aimed at young entrepreneurs. It extends the Future Entrepreneur Program 2026, a longer effort to take participants from training to enterprise. What the market adds is a physical place to sell.
Participants can develop and showcase their products, and they can engage directly with customers. That sounds simple, but it is the difference between a school exercise and a commercial one. The market lets participants apply the knowledge and skills gained through the Future Entrepreneur Program 2026 and test their ideas and products in a real marketplace. They get practice in product development, brand building, product presentation, and customer engagement. They also gather feedback from visitors. That feedback can be used to refine both ideas and products while the program is still underway.
The market will run in two stages. The first takes place at Bawadi Mall in Al Ain from August 7 to 9, between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. The second stage runs at Reem Mall in Abu Dhabi from August 14 to 18, also from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. The market includes interactive workshops and activities for families and community members. Visitors will be able to explore each project and provide feedback to the young people behind it.
Khalifa Fund presents the market as part of its efforts to develop entrepreneurial skills among younger generations. The target skills include innovation, communication, decision-making, teamwork, and responsibility. These are not just presentation skills. They are tested when a stranger walks up to a stall and asks a question. The event gives young founders a low-risk place to practice that moment before they face it in a full business.
The wider context matters. The market arrives at a moment when other UAE institutions are also channeling money and attention into youth entrepreneurship. Expo City Dubai Foundation, for example, has named ten youth-led projects for its Changemakers Academy, with up to AED 25,000 per project. The Future Founders Market complements that support by giving young people an actual venue to meet customers, collect honest reactions, and adjust. Programs that combine funding with a live sales floor are harder to fake than programs that end with a certificate.
