The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development has rolled out the second edition of its “Prompt Engineering” programme, this time for members of the Abu Dhabi Chamber in Al Ain. The initiative is designed to help entrepreneurs build and validate startup ideas using AI tools, without requiring any prior coding background.
What The Programme Covers
The programme centres on teaching participants to understand current AI trends and develop effective prompt-writing skills. It also trains entrepreneurs to apply AI tools directly to business building through what the Fund calls the “Lean AI Canvas” methodology, a structured approach to shaping and stress-testing a startup concept before launch.
Built on the idea that prompt engineering now functions as the new coding, the programme takes participants through developing a working project prototype and preparing a go-to-market kit, giving them tangible outputs rather than theoretical training alone.
Part Of A Broader AI Push
This is not the Fund’s first attempt at embedding AI skills into entrepreneurship training. In December 2025, Khalifa Fund partnered with 42 Abu Dhabi, a coding academy known for its peer-to-peer learning model, to run a related AI Prompt Engineering programme in Al Ain. That version used a five-day “Train-and-Build” format: the first two days covered AI fundamentals and prompt engineering alongside toolkit creation for launching and marketing new products, the middle days were dedicated to building applicable prototypes, and the programme closed with an investor-style pitch session where teams presented their prototypes and go-to-market toolkits to a judging panel.
Khalifa Fund has also worked with Stallion AI on a separate nine-week “AI Entrepreneur Programme,” aimed at helping young UAE entrepreneurs build AI-first startups from the ground up.
Why Khalifa Fund Is Betting On AI Skills
The Fund has framed its growing slate of AI-focused programmes as part of a continuous effort to prepare entrepreneurs for a shifting digital economy, where the ability to use AI tools effectively is becoming as fundamental as traditional technical skills once were. The strategy also reflects a broader institutional push to strengthen partnerships between national organisations in support of innovation and faster AI adoption across the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
This aligns with the UAE’s wider ambition to build a knowledge-based economy powered by advanced technologies, reinforcing the country’s position as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.
Khalifa Fund’s Broader Mandate
Established in 2007, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development is an independent, non-profit organisation under the Government of Abu Dhabi. Its mandate covers fostering a culture of entrepreneurship, encouraging innovation, and supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises through a balanced ecosystem of programmes.
Beyond its AI training initiatives, the Fund runs a range of other support mechanisms, including the Abu Dhabi SME Champions Programme, an SME Export Enablement Program to boost global competitiveness, a Light Manufacturing Accelerator connecting entrepreneurs with manufacturers and industrial partners, and an SME Finance Facilitator Program aimed at easing access to financing and credit.
The Bigger Picture For UAE Startups
By lowering the technical barrier to building a startup, Khalifa Fund’s approach signals a shift in how entrepreneurship support is being structured across the UAE. Rather than requiring founders to hire developers or learn to code before testing an idea, programmes like this one let non-technical entrepreneurs move from concept to working prototype using AI tools alone.
For Abu Dhabi’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, that could mean a wider pool of founders able to participate, particularly those with strong business ideas but no technical training, at a moment when AI fluency is increasingly treated as a baseline requirement rather than a specialised skill.
