School of Business faculty members at the American University in Dubai (AUD) mentored emerging entrepreneurs at Dubai SME’s Majlis Al Mustaqbal, resulting in significant improvements in the clarity, structure, and investment potential of participating ventures.

Dr. Maya Abou Zahr, Interim Director of AUD’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (AEIC), alongside Dr. Farah Arkadan, Chair of the Department of Management and Marketing, Associate Professor of Marketing, and Accreditation Lead; Dr. Lena Kurban, Chair of the Department of Decision Sciences and General Business and Assistant Professor of Management Sciences; Dr. Racha Abdrabbo, faculty member and innovation specialist; and Dr. Gesualda Iodice, Assistant Professor of General Business, participated as mentors throughout the program.

AUD faculty provided structured, hands-on mentorship to participating entrepreneurs through a combination of group sessions and one-on-one guidance. Their support focused on strengthening core business foundations, including refining business model canvas structures, clarifying value propositions, and improving market validation and customer segmentation approaches. Faculty also worked closely with teams to enhance revenue logic, scalability potential, and strategic positioning, while challenging assumptions and encouraging more critical, evidence-based thinking.

In addition, faculty supported participants in developing more compelling investor-ready pitches, helping them translate early-stage ideas into clearer, more structured, and more commercially viable business concepts. This targeted mentoring enabled many teams to significantly improve how they communicated their ideas and demonstrated business viability.

The event brought together emerging entrepreneurs for a structured innovation journey focused on challenge exploration, prototyping, and investor pitch development. AUD faculty played an active role throughout the program, engaging participants through interactive discussions, hands-on workshops, tailored feedback sessions, and one-on-one mentoring.

In addition to their mentorship role, AUD faculty also contributed to evaluating participating teams ahead of final recognition and awards, further highlighting the university’s growing engagement within the UAE’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.