42 Abu Dhabi has completed its inaugural Techpreneur Summit, marking a key milestone in the academy’s efforts to empower students, deepen industry collaboration, and inspire technology-driven entrepreneurship with meaningful community benefit.
Reflecting Abu Dhabi’s ambition to build a world-class innovation landscape, the Summit enabled learners to pitch and refine concepts with investors, business stakeholders, and entrepreneurship support organisations. Projects on display centred on solving real societal and industrial challenges across sustainability, digital transformation, education, community services, and healthcare.
The event also hosted HACK4IMPACT, a dedicated social-impact hackathon run alongside Athar+, which supports innovation for public good. Guided by the UAE’s Year of Community, the hackathon encouraged participants to build usable, socially beneficial prototypes while gaining exposure to pathways for scaling digital solutions.
Dr Ahmed Al Shoaibi, Acting CEO of 42 Abu Dhabi, said:”Entrepreneurship has become an essential extension of the learning journey at 42 Abu Dhabi. By combining peer-to-peer education with entrepreneurial exposure, we enable learners to transform practical skills into real ventures that address national priorities. The Techpreneur Summit provides an environment where ideas are challenged, supported, and strengthened by the wider ecosystem.”
Ten early-stage start-ups founded by learners were presented during the Summit. Instead of focusing solely on technology, the showcase emphasised measurable value and usability. Solutions ranged from AI-supported tools for SMEs and streamlined public access platforms to innovations in marine ecology, cybersecurity compliance, student learning, and hospital triage.
The solutions demonstrated the growing ability of 42 Abu Dhabi participants to address national and global opportunities in areas such as healthcare efficiency, climate resilience, digital accessibility, security alignment, and educational advancement.
As part of the programme, the academy formalised three new strategic agreements with ADSM, the Khalifa Innovation Centre, and Infinia. The partnerships further reinforce the academy’s ambition to expand access to business development pathways, applied research opportunities, and entrepreneurial support for learners.
Participants benefitted from tailored one-to-one advisory sessions offered by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Infinia, Visionaries, and AB Consultancy, receiving guidance on business funding, commercial strategy, scaling, and investor readiness.
Through initiatives such as the Techpreneur Summit, 42 Abu Dhabi continues to build a culture of innovation and hands-on entrepreneurship, equipping learners to contribute meaningfully to the UAE’s transition toward a knowledge-based, future-ready economy.
