IMC UAE: Mentoring the Country’s Economic Diversification

Together, let’s help boost the UAE’s success story in its non-hydrocarbon diversification.

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IMC in UAE

The United Arab Emirates or UAE (in short), is walking the path of a robust economic future. Global headwinds have barely impacted the country’s economy due to its strong thirst for investing in new startups, academic research and innovation. Strong encouragement for women’s potential and entrepreneurship is also paying off, with 25,000+ Emirati women making headlines for embracing the startup culture with businesses valued at over AED 60 Billion. Targeted mentoring has been central to this phenomenal growth.

The IMF has projected a 5% GDP growth in 2026, whereas local economic trackers project greater figures. The ‘We the UAE 2031’ national vision intends to raise the trade volume to AED 3 Trillion by 2031. Institutional mentoring through the Khalifa Fund and Dubai SME ensures that these enterprises survive their early critical years. Mentoring ecosystems like Abu Dhabi’s Hub 71 connect founders with global expertise and sovereign backing. Recently, its resident startups secured over $2.17 Billion dollars in venture capital funding through guided scaling.

The International Mentoring Center continues to actively play a strong role in setting the global standards for mentoring in the UAE through its membership, credentialing and accreditation programs, regular events, volunteering and ambassador programs, etc.

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🇦🇪 Mentoring in the UAE Key Statistics

Fully attributable statistics on how structured mentorship drives MSME growth, tech startup scaling, and women's economic empowerment — sourced from public, auditable reports.

As of September 2026 · Sources: Ministry of Economy, Dubai SME, Khalifa Fund, Hub71

▶ MSME Ecosystem Impact VERIFIED

Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Ministry of Economy · WUAB

Total business establishments	94%of all businesses are SMEs	94%
MSME contribution to GDP	53%of national economic output	53%
Non-oil GDP contribution	70%of the non-oil economy	70%
Private workforce share	86%of the private sector workforce	86%

Sources: World Union of Arab Bankers / Ministry of Economy — SMEs represent 94% of businesses, contributing 53% to GDP, 70.2% to non-oil GDP, and employing 86% of the private workforce.

▶ Dubai SME Ecosystem VERIFIED

Dubai SME Operational Impact Dubai Economy Report

Total SME Establishments (Dubai)	151,875active registered SMEs	151k+
Micro-firm concentration	61%of the total business count	61%
SME Workforce (Dubai)	1.41Mworkers employed by SMEs	1.41M

Sources: Dubai SME / Dubai Economy — 151,875 SME establishments representing a massive 99.2% of businesses in the emirate, employing 1.41 million workers.

▶ Mentoring, Funding & Tech Startups VERIFIED

Khalifa Fund & Hub71 Acceleration Khalifa Fund · Hub71

Khalifa Fund — SMEs funded	1,200+SMEs supported with capital	1,200+
Khalifa Fund — capital deployed	1.3BAED in SME funding	1.3B
Hub71 — venture funding raised	$2.17Braised by startups in 2024	$2.17B
Hub71 — active tech startups	250+resident tech ventures	250+

Sources: Khalifa Fund — Backed over 1,200 SMEs with AED 1.3 billion. Hub71 — Network of over 250 startups, securing $2.17 billion in venture capital funding.

▶ Women's Economic Empowerment VERIFIED

Female-Led Business Leadership NAMA · Tech Accelerators

Emirati female entrepreneurs	25,000+women owning businesses	25k+
Value of female-owned trade licenses	60BAED in overall valuation	60B AED
Female-led tech startups	30%of startups in recent accelerator cohorts	30%

Sources: NAMA Women Advancement / Startup Accelerators — 25,000+ Emirati women own business trade licenses valued at over AED 60 billion, while founding 30% of businesses in recent incubator cohorts.

▶ Key Insights — UAE

MSME Backbone

94%

SMEs represent 94% of all businesses and employ 86% of the private workforce.

Ministry of Economy

Non-Oil Diversification

70%

SMEs successfully contribute to 70% of the UAE's non-oil GDP, driving structural economic diversification.

WUAB

Khalifa Fund Mentorship

1.3B

AED 1.3 Billion deployed to fund and mentor over 1,200 local SME projects.

Khalifa Fund

Abu Dhabi Tech Leadership

$2.17B

Over $2.17 Billion in venture funding raised by the 250+ startups hosted at Hub71.

Hub71 / Startup Genome

Government Procurement

10%

A mandated 10% minimum of total government procurement is annually allocated exclusively to UAE SMEs.

UAE Government Portal

Women in Business

25k+

25,000+ Emirati women run businesses with trade licenses collectively valued at AED 60 billion.

NAMA

Data Certification: Every indicator presented above is sourced from publicly available, auditable reports published by the UAE Ministry of Economy, Dubai SME, Khalifa Fund, Hub71, and Startup Genome. No unverified programme-level estimates are included. All numbers are independently verifiable.

Upcoming Chapters

Dubai

Status: Launching Soon

Abu Dhabi

Status: Launching Soon

Sharjah

Status: Launching Soon

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Benefits of Mentoring in the United Arab Emirates Impact Delivery

How structured mentorship and innovation hubs drive MSME expansion, tech startup scaling, youth entrepreneurship, and women's empowerment across the UAE.

As of September 2026 · Sources: Khalifa Fund · Dubai SME · Hub71 · NAMA

MSME Resilience & Sector Growth

Dubai SME Advisory Support

Mentorship and expert guidance facilitated massive growth, providing specialized advisory services to over 3,075 entrepreneurs in a single year, bringing total beneficiaries to over 53,200.

Khalifa Fund Capability Building

The Khalifa Fund delivers comprehensive enterprise development, deploying mentorship frameworks that have funded over 1,200 SME projects with AED 1.3+ billion.

Tech Startup & Incubation Support

Hamdan Innovation Incubator

Backed by Dubai SME, the Hamdan Innovation Incubator (HI2) connects founders with strategic mentors and investors, successfully guiding over 800 startups through market access and financial growth.

Hub71 Global Tech Ecosystem

Abu Dhabi's premier tech ecosystem actively mentors founders, utilizing its Incentive Program to drastically reduce setup costs and accelerate deep-tech scaling for global and domestic ventures.

Youth Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Young Entrepreneurship Program

Led by the Khalifa Fund, this specialized 2026 initiative equips young Emiratis with crucial financial literacy, intensive mentoring, and future-ready business skills to transition them into successful founders.

Emaratipreneur Tech Solutions

Ecosystem mentors actively guide young Emirati tech startups to develop sustainable solutions that address social and economic challenges, aligning directly with the UAE's economic diversification goals.

Women's Entrepreneurship & Capacity

Closing the Gender Gap

Mentorship has catalyzed female founders across the UAE, with 25,000 Emirati women entrepreneurs now owning businesses and trade licenses valued at over AED 60 billion.

Female-Led Tech Growth

With structured capacity-building from hubs like Hub71, female tech leadership is surging, with women founding over 30% of the tech businesses in recent global accelerator cohorts.

Accreditation Process

How Organizations in the UAE Can Get IMC Accreditation

To maintain the highest level of standards in global mentoring, IMC has a rigorous review system to audit your organization’s program quality as part of our strict accreditation process requirements in the UAE.

Your organization can opt to provide a mentoring program with more than 20 hours of training or a shorter one. This can get you a training accreditation or an endorsed training accreditation.

Your program must include mentoring skills and domain or knowledge development so as to be eligible for accreditation. Every program must incorporate the following three sections compulsorily:

The IMC Definition of Mentoring
The IMC Code of Conduct and Ethics
The IMC Core Competencies (minimum of 3 must for accreditation)

The programs must provide participants with the necessary skills for each credential and ensure that the trainer is the primary mentor supervisor for at least a year.

The accreditation will be valid for three years from the date of issue.

The Accreditation Application Flow

The entire accreditation application process takes around four to six weeks.

Stage 1: Organization Details

Stage 2: Program Details

Stage 3: Instructor Details

Stage 4: Terms and Conditions

Following a successful review, you’ll receive an email notification confirming your IMC accreditation status and a media kit to display your accreditation.

Please feel free to contact us for any further clarification.

FAQs

What is the International Mentoring Center (IMC)?

The IMC is a global professional mentoring association and international standards-setting authority that fosters excellence through memberships, credentials, and accreditation.

What is the mission and vision of the International Mentoring Center?

Mission: Propel the mentoring industry forward by establishing the highest standards in mentoring practices and education, underpinned by cutting-edge research insights and findings.

Vision: Make the world a better place through the power of mentoring, transforming careers, lives, and societies by making mentorship a universal culture across borders and generations.

Which are local chapters of IMC UAE?

IMC UAE has local mentoring chapters at:

Abu Dhabi
Dubai
Sharjah

What individual mentor credentials does the IMC offer?

The IMC provides a tiered credentialing system based on the stage of the mentoring journey:

Certified Associate Mentor (CAM)—for beginners
Certified Professional Mentor (CPM)—for the experienced mentor with established practice
Certified Master Mentor (CMM)—for the seasoned mentor

How do mentors prove their certification status?

The IMC issues verifiable Digital Badges that mentors can showcase digitally and maintains a public “Verify Mentor Credentials” database. You can verify a mentor’s credentials by entering the details at https://bit.ly/verifymentor

Will my credentials remain permanent?

No, credentials require renewal through the IMC’s Credential Renewal process every three years. You need to accumulate Mentor Development Credits (MDCs) as part of renewal requirements acquired through mentoring others, attending IMC events, etc.

Where does the IMC operate globally?

The IMC maintains over 100+ global chapters, explicitly listing regional hubs in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, Singapore, the UAE, Germany and more countries.

How do I contact IMC UAE?

You may contact us through our page at https://bit.ly/4gPktVW

IMC UAE: Mentoring the Country’s Economic Diversification

IMC Membership

IMC Credential

IMC Accreditation

Mentoring in Organizations

IMC in UAE

Lead A Chapter

Volunteer for IMC

IMC Events

About IMC

🇦🇪 Mentoring in the UAE Key Statistics

MSME Backbone

Non-Oil Diversification

Khalifa Fund Mentorship

Abu Dhabi Tech Leadership

Government Procurement

Women in Business

Upcoming Chapters

Dubai

Abu Dhabi

Sharjah

Explore Chapters by Regions

Benefits of Mentoring in the United Arab Emirates Impact Delivery

MSME Resilience & Sector Growth

Tech Startup & Incubation Support

Youth Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Women's Entrepreneurship & Capacity

Accreditation Process

FAQs

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