Calimala at Hub71’s 2025 Impact Event: Inside Abu Dhabi’s Next Phase of AI and Startup Growth
In October 2025, Calimala attended the Hub71 Impact Event 2025, held at the ADGM Building on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi under the theme “Impactful Momentum.” The two-day forum brought together around one thousand founders, investors, corporates and government representatives, featuring keynote sessions and panels with more than 40 global speakers.
For Calimala, operating out of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Impact provided a concentrated view of how the local AI and startup ecosystem is evolving—and how talent and hiring will need to support that evolution.
Key themes from the summit
The 2025 edition of Hub71’s Impact Event combined ecosystem updates with concrete programme launches:
Initiate – a new founder pathway
Hub71 announced Initiate, a programme designed for very early-stage founders, developed with SC Ventures and VentureOne. The initiative focuses on helping entrepreneurs validate ideas, structure business models and prepare for seed funding, creating a clearer route from concept to investable startup.Expansion of Hub71+ AI
The summit highlighted the expansion of Hub71+ AI, a specialised ecosystem for AI companies, with additional corporate and capital partners joining to support pilots, procurement and scaling.New partnerships for funding and growth
Announcements included partnerships to support procurement financing and export-oriented growth, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s aim to become one of the world’s most connected startup ecosystems.
Across panels and side discussions, a recurring message was the need to align capital, regulation, infrastructure and talent—particularly in AI and data-intensive sectors.
Why this matters for Calimala and its clients
Calimala’s work—helping organisations build senior Data & AI teams through AI-native evaluation and compliant cross-border contracting—sits directly in the path of these developments.
Several aspects of the Impact Event are especially relevant to Calimala’s clients and partners:
Acceleration of AI-focused programmes
The growth of Hub71+ AI and related initiatives signals a sustained pipeline of AI and data-driven projects in Abu Dhabi, requiring roles such as MLOps engineers, LLM/RAG specialists, data platform leads, analytics leads, and governance and privacy experts.Greater emphasis on responsible and regulated AI
With Abu Dhabi positioning itself as a hub for responsible, regulated AI, organisations running data and AI programmes will increasingly need hiring models that combine speed with governance, documentation and compliance.Integration of ADGM into the regional innovation story
ADGM’s regulatory environment and corporate structures are central to many of the partnerships and programmes launched at Impact. This aligns with Calimala’s focus on cross-border contracting and supplying Data & AI contractors into projects that span multiple jurisdictions in the GCC and beyond.
Looking ahead
The Hub71 Impact Event 2025 underlined that Abu Dhabi’s next phase of growth will be driven by applied AI, data infrastructure and founder-led innovation, backed by institutional capital and progressive regulation.
In that environment, the ability to assemble senior Data & AI teams quickly—on a project, programme or regional basis—becomes a strategic capability for banks, telecom operators, industrial groups, digital businesses and the startups emerging from the Hub71 ecosystem.
Calimala’s role within this landscape is clear: to act as a specialised partner that can design the right Data & AI roles, source global talent, and deliver evaluation-ready shortlists and contractors that match the pace and ambition of Abu Dhabi’s AI agenda.
Calimala supports CDOs, CIOs and business leaders with specialised Data & AI talent, structured engagements and delivery oversight — so critical initiatives are staffed with the right people, on time.
