2 years
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
Two years planning a venture, testing whether anyone wants it, working out the money and pitching it. The panel is the obvious next stop after the final pitch.
See the programmeStudying at TIIB
The AED 2 Million startup fund
A pool rather than a prize, so more than one venture gets backed and the money is not spent on a single winner.
It is open on any programme, and it is judged by people who invest for a living.
What the fund is
- Open to
- Any TIIB student
- Assessed by
- An investor panel
- Amount per venture
- Not fixed
- Comes with
- Mentoring
You do not need a finished product to submit. You do need to defend the idea in front of people who will ask hard questions.
How it works
Four stages, and the second one is a real assessment rather than a formality. Proposals are turned down.
- 1
Submit your idea
A proposal: what it is, who it is for, and why it works.
- 2
Face the panel
Investors, mentors and industry people assess it on originality, feasibility, scale and whether it solves something real.
- 3
Funding and mentoring
Selected founders get capital and someone experienced sitting with them while they build.
- 4
Show it
Supported ventures pitch at TIIB events and meet the partner network.
What you get besides the money
The capital is the part that is easy to describe. These are the parts that decide whether the venture is still running a year later.
Workspace and technical support
Somewhere to work, and technical help with the parts of the build that are not your subject.
Introductions
Introductions into the industry-partner network, which is where a first customer or a first supplier usually comes from.
Mentors who have done it
People who have taken a product to market sit with the founders while they build, rather than reviewing them from a distance.
Why a pool and not a prize
A prize pays out once, on a stage, and then the founder is on their own with a product nobody has bought yet.
The months after the money are where a student business usually comes apart, so that is where the support is pointed: a mentor who has done it, somewhere to work, and introductions that would otherwise take a year to earn.
It also means a good idea is not competing with another good idea. Several ventures can be backed in the same round.
The programmes built around it
Two programmes are built around exactly this work. Eligibility is not restricted to them, and students on the four-month and one-week programmes pitch too.
1 year
Entrepreneurship and Career Launchpad Programme
One year on a single idea, from first sketch to a public launch event, with mentors sitting with you the whole way.
See the programme
Questions people ask
Who can apply to the startup fund?
TIIB students, on any programme. You submit a proposal, a panel assesses it on how original, feasible and scalable it is, and selected founders draw from the pool and get mentoring while they build.
How much can one venture receive?
There is no fixed amount per venture. The fund is a pool, and what a venture receives depends on what it needs and what stage it is at.
Also useful
- TIIB Exclusive programmes
16 short programmes built around one trade or one venture each.
- Internships and employability
The partner network the introductions come from, and the placement inside every programme.
- The announcement
What the institute committed to, and why it was structured this way.
The panel is open to every programme
There is no separate entry route and no application to the fund before you are a student. Pick the programme you actually want, and the panel is open to you from the day you start.
An admissions counsellor replies within one working day.