Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and the UAE Cyber Security Council have added cybersecurity training to this year’s Future Entrepreneur Programme summer camp. Kids as young as 4, and teenagers up to 18, are learning how to protect their personal data and digital identity across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Al Dhafra. That training now sits next to the usual pitch and project work, not after it.
The theme this year is “Their summer today. Their ventures tomorrow, with safety and confidence.” Entrepreneurship and online safety run in the same schedule.
Ages 4 to 18. That’s the full range, and the camp splits it into four levels: Young Innovators, Foundation Stage, Intermediate Stage, and Advanced Stage.
A 6-year-old in Young Innovators does simple, guided exercises. A 17-year-old in the Advanced Stage builds something closer to a real pitch. Cybersecurity content shows up at every level, just scaled to age.
If you’re a parent hunting for a summer activity with actual substance, this fits. So does a teenager who already has a business idea and wants a mentor to poke holes in it.
Cyber Security Council instructors run the sessions in person, in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Al Dhafra. It’s built into the regular camp schedule, not bolted on as an extra.
Four areas get covered. Protecting personal information. Securing a digital identity. Using apps and platforms safely. Spotting common cyber risks before they turn into real problems. Participants also learn what to actually do once they spot a risk, which is the part a lot of youth safety content skips.
Because a business built on shaky data habits is a business with a problem waiting to happen, and that applies whether the founder is 35 or 15. Khalifa Fund built cybersecurity into this year’s camp so participants pick up good data habits from day one, instead of learning the hard way later.
The UAE has been tightening rules around how minors use digital platforms generally, and businesses that serve younger users are already working through what those child digital safety regulations require. This camp sits in that same space, just from the other direction, kids learning to protect data rather than being protected from a platform.
For a teenager with a first business idea, the training raises a question that’s easy to skip: what happens to a customer’s data the moment you start collecting it?
Practical activities, workshops, mentoring sessions, project presentations. Each participant develops their own idea and pushes it toward something that resembles a working business, with mentors checking in throughout rather than only judging the final pitch.
Creativity and teamwork get named as core skills. So does responsibility, since participants own their project from the first sketch to the final presentation.
UAE schools are already leaning on tools that catch learning gaps as they happen, instead of waiting for a test result weeks later. The camp works the same way with business ideas: find the weak spot while there’s still time to fix it, not after the pitch.
A graduation ceremony, and a certificate of participation for everyone, whether their project made it to a full pitch or not.
Khalifa Fund puts the goal in two parts. Build entrepreneurial ability in young Emiratis. Make sure they can use technology safely while they’re at it.
The UAE has spent recent years pushing its economy toward innovation and knowledge work, and camps like this are part of where that starts, years before anyone here applies for a job.
Data handling comes up early in building a business in the UAE, sometimes before a company has its first paying customer. Teaching that alongside the pitch itself, rather than after, is the actual point of pairing these two subjects.
What is the Future Entrepreneur Programme 2026?
A summer camp from Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development that combines entrepreneurship training with cybersecurity awareness for children and young people in the UAE.
Who can join the Khalifa Fund summer entrepreneurship camp?
Any child or young person in the UAE aged 4 to 18. Four levels: Young Innovators, Foundation Stage, Intermediate Stage, Advanced Stage.
What cybersecurity skills do participants learn?
Protecting personal information, securing a digital identity, using apps and platforms safely, and spotting common cyber risks before they cause damage.
Where are the cybersecurity sessions held?
In person, across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Al Dhafra, led by UAE Cyber Security Council instructors.
Do participants get a certificate at the end?
Yes. The camp closes with a graduation ceremony, and every participant gets one.
Who is running the programme?
Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, with the UAE Cyber Security Council, building on a partnership the two already had.
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