Guidance and mentorship should come before funding when supporting young entrepreneurs, according to Abdelaziz Almaazmi, Director of Business Incubation Department at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Dubai SME), whose department has partnered with INJAZ UAE to help students turn business ideas into commercial ventures through the Founders of Tomorrow programme.
Launched by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Dubai SME), part of DET, and INJAZ UAE, the initiative aims to connect universities with government and private sector organisations, giving students the opportunity to develop solutions to real-world challenges while building entrepreneurship skills. The programme supports the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, by strengthening the pipeline of Emirati entrepreneurs.
Speaking about the partnership, Almaazmi said INJAZ UAE’s experience working with schools and universities made it a natural partner for Dubai SME.
“I think INJAZ has the experience. They have been working for more than 20 years with universities and schools in entrepreneurship,” he told Lana in an exclusive interview. “Our partnership is to link government entities and the private sector with academic universities and institutions.”
Rather than focusing solely on classroom learning, Almaazmi said the programme gives students exposure to real challenges submitted by participating organisations.
“We are trying to bring this idea of tackling real world of challenges. Each government entity has its own challenges. They submit their challenge to students, the students apply with their solutions, and they receive guidance from those government entities that are part of the programme,” he said.
Students whose ideas are selected work alongside mentors from the participating organisations to refine their concepts and understand how their solutions can be implemented.
“They work with the mentors and with the government entities to receive advisory support and guidance on how the solution can be adapted,” Almaazmi said.
The strongest ideas can then progress into Dubai SME’s support ecosystem, where entrepreneurs have access to incubation, market access programmes, funding opportunities, subsidies and licensing support.
However, Almaazmi said mentorship remains the most important factor in the early stages of entrepreneurship.
“I think the main thing is the guidance and the hands-on support to these young entrepreneurs. The other services, which are funding, commercialisation and licensing, come after that,” he said.
He added that one of the programme’s main objectives is to encourage students to see entrepreneurship as a long-term career option.
“The main challenge is how we can change the mindset of students to become entrepreneurs when they graduate. We want entrepreneurship to become part of their career path,” he said.
The inaugural cohort saw nine student projects selected to address challenges set by participating organisations, with RIAYA, SkyNova, ClaimGuard AI and Ruwadna among the winning projects.
As this is the programme’s first cohort, Almaazmi said its long-term impact would only become clear after participants begin implementing their ideas.
“There are nine projects selected to work on the challenges. The success may come after six months or one year when they implement their ideas.”
When asked what makes a successful start-up founder, Almaazmi pointed to perseverance. “When someone has an idea and has the patience to implement it, let them start. Even if they fail, people can learn from failure,” he said, adding that one of the biggest challenges for first-time entrepreneurs is developing solutions that are difficult to implement in practice, while also failing to seek guidance early in the process.
“I think the guidance and support they need from the first interaction and face-to-face meetings with government entities is important,” he said.
“Start with your business and don’t be afraid of the challenges that you have,” he advised.
