CEO Program
Food Innovation Program for Aspirants
Application Closed
The CEO Program is a Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development initiative supported by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Jenaan Investment, and curated & operated by Stratecis.
The aim of this program is to enable government employees with an opportunity to cultivate entrepreneurship and innovation skills; build and grow their own ag-food tech ventures; and contribute to UAE's Food Security Strategy.
Are you a government employee interested in launching your own agtech startup or growing your existing one in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi? Then the CEO Program is the right one for you!
Program Objectives
- Contribute to supporting the growth and development of Abu Dhabi’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through empowering & enabling Abu Dhabi Government Employees in their early-stage agri-food tech entrepreneurial journey.
- Create entrepreneurship opportunities for Abu Dhabi Government Employees in partnership with industry partners to help find, sustain and grow their new or existing ag-food tech ventures.
- Equip government employees with practical entrepreneurship & innovation skills, knowledge and tools to develop innovation in agriculture and food; and contribute to building a more sustainable future.
- Develop supportive programs & enabling environment for emerging entrepreneurs.
- Enable the transition of government employees to full-time entrepreneurs.
Program Benefits
- From zero to seed in 9 months, through a specially designed program to build a business that will solve real agriculture challenges.
- We support in finding a co-founding team, perhaps a subject matter pro, CTO/builder, go-to-market/business modeler, with whom the founder will build further confidence.
- The program’s successful graduates with viable solutions will potentially be eligible for a 1-year sabbatical leave from their employment.
- Get industry expert guidance.
- Get linked to industry partners.
- Get link to investors.
Who should apply?
- Previous Founder: Someone with experience in venture building to help accelerate the venture.
- Commercial: Someone with strengths that will help in the go-to-market and building the business model.
- Tech Geek: Someone capable of helping in the process of building the prototype, and later, the project itself. Ideally a software/hardware engineer, CTO, product manager (who can set the roadmap) or product designer (who can build to POC).
- Marketing Guru: Someone capable of helping to market the product, build the brand and drive user traction.
- Subject matter expert: Someone who knows about the unmet agriculture, food and/or farming customer needs that could be utilised.
Who gets selected?
The founders of CEO Program are employees in government sector who have a co-founding team or an individual willing to leave their jobs to become entrepreneurs.
These are the individuals we are looking for:
- Future Entrepreneur: You believe you have what it takes to to go out of your comfort zone from being an employee to follow your entrepreneurship dream
- Self-Starter: You are a self-starter and can inspire and motivate yourself and others to join your mission. You set high goals and have proven to achieve them whether at work, sports…
- Blue Ocean Strategist: That strong attribute which enables your skills and experiences to stand out from the crowd. You have deep knowledge in an area where you can form a competitive advantage.
- Creative Problem Solver: Your source of energy never runs low. You always find a window when the door closes. You have the willingness and ability to keep going when you're faced with obstacles.
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Shortlisting (7 teams)
Phase 1 (From Ideation to Prototyping) Pitch Day (4 teams)
Phase 2 (Pre-Commercialization) Pitch Day (1 team)
- +351911160181
- diana@stratecis.com
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