Khalifa Fund and UAE University sign an agreement for 'Kitchen Incubator' in food industry in Al Ain

Today H.E. Abdullah Saeed Al Darmaki, Chief Executive Officer of Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al-Khanbashi, Vice-Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University signed an agreement to establish and manage the food industry in the framework of "Food Innovation Program" launched by both parties to encourage Nationals to enter the food industry sector.

On his part, Dr. Abdulla Saad Al-Khanbashi, Vice Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University stressed that this project is the first of its type in the region and represents an additional initiative to the services of Khalifa Fund and its program is designed at enabling a wide range of nationals to enter new economic fields in order to obtain more experience in the markets and economic activity which in turn attain commercial vital gains. He added that it is a unique support to the national economy with a very simple and easy start-ups for young generation and the most important the opportunity to training rendered by these projects for young nationals wishing to do business.

Dr. Al Khanbashi emphasized that UAEU gives this project and other projects sponsored by Khalifa Fund the priority by investing in its outcomes in supporting the commercial activity opened for the candidates able to enter the market, in the meantime he praised in particular the role of the Fund and described it as the first engine in recruiting nationals to enter the stimulated and successful investment areas referring to the successive achievements of the fund at the community level with partnerships that contributed to stir the activate the market.

Furthermore the kitchen incubator in the food industry is considered a leading experiment as it allows the opportunity to entrepreneurs to test their projects ideas and execute them with the lowest cost possible in addition to know the best international practices in the food industry and use them as permanent procedures in the project.

The program includes training courses for its candidates to develop their administrative and marketing skills in addition to specialized courses on how to prepare different types of food confectionery and means to preserve and market them. Also candidates are briefed to the health and environmental procedures to be followed and other applied international procedures and practices in the field of food preparation and selling it.

H.E. Abdullah Saeed Al Darmaki, Chief Executive Officer of Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development said that the work in this program will be at two phases the first phase will last 3 months and shall include training, qualification and building capacities and skills in all various fields while the second phase will continue for one full year at which the candidates will learn the mechanism to approve the production lines and innovating the special recipes of the products, marketing and building business networking which enable the entrepreneur to join the market.

Al Darmaki pointed out that this project includes currently 11 programs managed by nationals who will have all facilities including the license which permits them to sell their products directly.

Al Darmaki explained that Khalifa Fund will provide funding support for successful candidates who pass all technical and administrative requirements in order to start-up their projects under the sponsorship of the Fund, referring that the program will focus on developing projects related to producing and preparing traditional food.