Young Entrepreneur Series (YES) 2026

Partner event

Young Entrepreneur Series (YES) 2026

A free entrepreneurship programme and business competition for Indonesians aged 18 to 35

September 2026 to January 2027, online, with a grand final in Abu Dhabi

YES 2026 is run by ILUNI UI UAE, the UAE chapter of the University of Indonesia alumni association, with the Indonesian embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate general in Dubai. BSI Middle East DIFC Branch, the Dubai branch of Bank Syariah Indonesia, is the strategic partner. Registration opened on 9 September 2026 and there is no fee.

Register at sayyes.ae

At a glance

Programme

September 2026 to January 2027

Registration

Opened 9 September 2026 at sayyes.ae

Fee

None

Who

Indonesian citizens aged 18 to 35

Entry

Alone, or in a team of up to five

Residency

Individual entrants and team leaders must live in the UAE

Format

YES Academy runs entirely online

Grand final

Indonesian embassy, Abu Dhabi, January 2027, in person with a hybrid option

Theme

Empowering Ideas. Building Nations.

Organiser

ILUNI UI UAE, with KBRI Abu Dhabi and KJRI Dubai

Strategic partner

BSI Middle East DIFC Branch

Questions

[email protected]

The three parts

Learn

YES Academy

Online sessions across six areas, from validating the problem through to pitch and funding readiness. Responsible use of AI is built into the sessions where it fits, for market research, customer analysis, business modelling, marketing and financial planning. Every session is online, so where somebody lives does not stop them attending.

Compete

YES Challenge

Two categories. Idea Stage is for people still developing and validating a business idea. Early Venture is for a startup that has reached testing, piloting or operations, or has begun recording commercial activity. Selected entrants go to a semifinal, and the best go to the grand final in Abu Dhabi.

Meet

YES Connect

Introductions to business practitioners, companies, investors and government bodies working across Indonesia and the UAE. It is not a separate event: it sits inside the Academy sessions, the competition rounds and the grand final.

What YES Academy covers

• Validating the problem
• customer and market
• Value proposition and business model
• Market entry and growth strategy
• Finance and commercial viability
• The UAE ecosystem and global markets
• Pitch and funding readiness

How the competition is judged

The organisers name five things: the strength of the business idea, understanding of the market, commercial viability, capacity to execute, and potential impact.

Two of those, capacity to execute and commercial viability, are easier to evidence from a venture that has already sold something than from an idea on a slide. The two categories are what let the same five questions be asked of both without one competing against the other.

The programme ends with three awards: YES Champion, Best Idea, and Best Early Venture.

What has not been announced

The prizes. The organisers say the details of the awards and of what participants receive will be published on the programme's own site rather than in the launch announcement.

The grand final has a month, January 2027, and no date. The judging is described by its criteria without saying how the five are weighted. Neither gap matters at the point of registering, but both are worth knowing before anybody plans a trip around the final.

Registration opened on 9 September 2026 and costs nothing

Register at sayyes.ae

Full requirements, the programme guide and the participant terms are on sayyes.ae. Questions go to [email protected]