H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has unveiled a two-year programme to push agentic AI into Dubai’s private sector. The plan will train business councils linked to Dubai Chambers, set up incubators for agentic AI companies, and create dedicated funding support. Dubai says it wants local companies to use these systems to raise productivity, grow business volume, and build stronger digital operations.
The two-year target
Sheikh Hamdan said the programme will run for two years and cover all business councils affiliated with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. He also directed Dubai Chambers to help launch incubators for agentic AI firms and back the shift with dedicated funds. That gives the plan a business structure, not just a public message.
What agentic AI means here
Dubai is not talking about basic chatbots or one-off assistants. Agentic AI refers to software that can make decisions and complete tasks with limited supervision. In practical terms, that can mean handling parts of customer support, sales operations, back office work, internal research, and workflow routing without waiting for a human at every step. That is why Dubai keeps linking the plan to higher productivity and lower costs.
The support goes beyond training
The most useful part of this plan sits in the support around it. Dubai is pairing training with incubators and capital. That matters because private firms do not struggle only with awareness. They also need talent, clear use cases, and room to test new tools without taking reckless risks. Dubai Chambers says it will use the programme to help entrepreneurs turn ideas into real companies and speed up digital adoption across the private sector.
The AI market
Dubai has picked this moment well. Big companies across the world have started to move past simple AI assistants and into systems that can take action inside business software. Microsoft said in its 2025 Work Trend Index that 82 percent of leaders see this as a key year to rethink strategy and operations, while another 82 percent expect to use digital labour to expand workforce capacity in the next 12 to 18 months. It also found that 46 percent of leaders say their organisations already use agents to automate workstreams or business processes.
In a survey of 300 senior executives in the US, the firm found that more than a third said their companies had broadly adopted AI agents, while 17 percent said they had fully adopted them across the company. PwC also said many firms still settle for small gains instead of redesigning larger workflows. That is a useful reality check for Dubai’s private sector plan. Adoption alone does not guarantee deep business impact.
The hard work starts after the launch
The biggest challenge now is execution. McKinsey says 80 percent of companies cite data limitations as a roadblock to scaling agentic AI. The firm also warns that weak governance, siloed data, and poor semantic structure raise error rates and operational risk as more agents work across more systems. In simple terms, companies need clean data, strong controls, and staff who know when to trust AI and when to step in. Dubai’s training push makes sense for that reason. Skills and oversight will matter as much as software.
This plan builds on earlier AI policy
Dubai did not start this push in a vacuum. The official announcement ties the new programme to the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and to existing projects such as DubaiNow, the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, and the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence. Digital Dubai also says its AI Lab has already worked with public and private partners to bring AI tools into city services and wider business use. The UAE policy track also supports the move. The UAE launched its national AI strategy in 2017 with goals that include boosting government performance, growing AI investment, and creating new high-value markets.
The private sector plan also lines up with a broader push across the UAE to put AI agents into public services. The National reported that Sheikh Mohammed had already set a goal in April for half of all government services to be delivered using AI agents within two years. That gives Dubai’s business move extra weight. The government is not asking companies to go somewhere it does not plan to go itself.
A practical bet on business growth
The strongest point in Sheikh Hamdan’s announcement is its focus on practical use. Dubai wants companies to adopt agentic AI because it expects better output, faster service, and stronger business growth. That fits the current stage of the AI market. The hype cycle is still loud, but serious buyers now care more about workflow gains, cost control, and time saved. If Dubai can help firms train staff, clean up data, and test real use cases, this plan will give its private sector a real head start in the next phase of enterprise AI.
