A Khalifa Fund program · Abu Dhabi, Al Ain & Al Dhafra
AgentUp brings 100 Emirati founders of startups and SMEs into the MZN hubs. Choose the process that takes up most of your week, build an agent on the tools you already use, and put it to work with you in charge. Your agent, your advantage.
وكيل ذكاء اصطناعي يعمل في مشروعك خلال أسبوعين
Explore the program
Program
Every founder leaves with five things, each one measured against a baseline set on day one.
Use case
A priority process with a baseline for time, output and cost
Blueprint
An adoption plan tailored to your business and tools
Live agent
An agent running in daily operations, with human review
Impact
Measured gains in efficiency, productivity, profitability and cost
Roadmap
A six-month roadmap, then a pitch at the Mini Demo Day
Agents founders build
Customer inquiries
Sales follow-up
Bilingual marketing
Finance and admin
Operations and bookings
Documents and quotes
How impact is measured
Efficiency
Time saved on the process
Productivity
More output per person or day
Profitability
Revenue gained or margin improved
Cost savings
Lower cost per task or customer
The two weeks
Week one builds your use case, blueprint and skills; week two gives three days to building your agent on site, then you measure it against your baseline and show it on Day 10. Beginners follow a guided track and experienced founders push further into automation.
Week 1
Learn and blueprint
Kick-off and discovery
Choose your use case and set its baseline
Adoption blueprint
Connect your tools, agree the plan
Agentic AI foundations
How agents work; your first skill
First workflow
Running on your real cases
Pathway deep dives
Automation check and build plan
Week 2
Build on site and prove
Build day 1
Connect live data and tools
Build day 2
Test end to end, with human review
Build day 3
Go live in daily operations
Measure and pitch
Result against your baseline
Showcase and graduation
Live demo, roadmap and next steps
Support
Six months after your cohort, through Demo Day
Mentor clinics
Monthly clinics for six months after your cohort: impact, team adoption and next uses
Support channel
Direct access to facilitators
Mini Demo Day
Result against your baseline, scored for the top 10
Demo Day
Top 10 agents pitch to judges for a prize
Who can join
There is no sector filter. What matters is a real business, digital tools an agent can connect to, and a founder who attends all ten days in the hub.
Emirati founder
The founder or co-founder leading the business is an Emirati national
Startup or SME
Retail, services, food, logistics, tech and beyond
Real customers
Processes the agent can work on from day one
Uses digital tools
Email, spreadsheets or business apps an agent can connect to
All ten days in the hub
Over two weeks; a second team member is welcome
Questions
No. You build on the tools you already use, step by step, with facilitators in the room and mentors on call. The selection asks about digital tools, not coding.
Ten days in the hub over two weeks, then six months of support with monthly mentor clinics and an always-on support channel, through your Mini Demo Day and Demo Day.
Yes. The founder attends all ten days, and a second team member is welcome.
An eligibility check, then two reviewers score digital maturity, commitment and AI fluency. Khalifa Fund makes the final selection at a decision day before each cohort.
Abu Dhabi runs three cohorts, Al Ain runs two and Al Dhafra one, in January. Choose your preferred hub when you apply.
Nothing. Just your laptop and commitment.
Data handling and ownership terms will be shared with the application form.
You keep running your agent with monthly mentor clinics and an always-on support channel. Your agent is scored at your cohort's Mini Demo Day, and the top 10 agents across all cohorts compete at Demo Day for a prize. Support runs for six months after your cohort.
Didn’t find your answer? Contact us
Apply
Tell us about your business, the task you want an agent to take on, and the digital tools you use today.
Before you apply
