- About KBS
- Our People
- Academics
- Graduate Programs
- Initiatives
- News & Media
Earn Your MBA. Build Your Venture.
A one-year, full-time MBA for globally mobile professionals and career changers who want to build a company, not just advise one.
The MBA for Entrepreneurs combines rigorous business education with hands-on venture building. You will master the fundamentals of business, develop the capabilities needed to launch and scale ventures, immerse yourself in Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, and build through hands-on experiences with Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV).
One Calendar Year
Jan–Dec
Credit Hours
43
New Courses
10
Summer Pathways
5
Please refer to the curriculum for more information.
Start your application today
Dhahran Techno Valley (DTV) is Saudi Arabia’s hub for deep-tech innovation, bringing together world-class research, industry, capital, and entrepreneurship. DTV plays an integral role in the MBA for Entrepreneurs by:
This is more than a collection of courses. It is an immersive MBA designed around learning, building, experiencing, and connecting.
Throughout the program, you will engage in venture-building activities with Dhahran Techno Valley and gain access to coaches, mentors, founders, industry experts and investors.
The journey exposes you to the practical challenges of building a company—from customer discovery and problem validation to business models, market positioning, technology roadmaps, pricing and pilot design.
As your venture progresses, the focus moves toward product development, financial planning, unit economics, sales and business development, procurement, founder agreements, fundraising, operations and scale-up.
You will develop the core capabilities expected from a rigorous MBA, including:
Dedicated courses and experiences develop capabilities relevant to building modern ventures, including:
You will explore topics such as customer discovery, MVP development, go-to-market strategy, unit economics, fundraising, cap tables, founder agreements, venture sales and scaling.
The experience begins with exposure to the Saudi innovation ecosystem across Dhahran and Riyadh, including engagement with KFUPM, Dhahran Techno Valley and other major ecosystem organizations.
Throughout the program, engagement with DTV brings you closer to entrepreneurs, mentors, industry experts, investors and potential customers.
You gain more than an academic understanding of entrepreneurship—you experience the networks, conversations and environment in which ventures are actually developed.
The MBA for Entrepreneurs includes a dedicated Hands-on Experience period that allows you to put what you have learned into practice.
If you are developing your startup, you can work intensively on it at DTV—developing a prototype or techno-economic model and preparing a pilot with a potential customer.
Alternatively, students can pursue experiences with startups, innovation hubs and other relevant pathways that provide exposure to how ventures and innovation ecosystems operate in practice.
The broader MBA structure also provides pathways including corporate residency, innovation and venture research, and international experience.
Build something promising during the program and you can be selected to continue your startup journey with Dhahran Techno Valley.
Selected startups receive:
Get selected. Incorporate your startup. Stay at DTV. Keep building.
The MBA for Entrepreneurs is a full-time, January-to-December MBA designed to provide an intensive experience within one calendar year.
Across that year, you combine: MBA fundamentals + entrepreneurship education + venture building + mentorship + Saudi ecosystem immersion + hands-on experience + industry and investor exposure.
And for those who want to continue, the program provides an optional post-MBA pathway to build a venture, work with a startup, pursue a corporate placement or undertake research.
A one-year, full-time program delivered over one calendar year, from January to December.
The program comprises 43 credit hours, including business core and entrepreneurship courses.
| Academic Qualification | A recognized bachelor’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent.* |
|---|---|
| English Proficiency | IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 70, or Duolingo English Test 120. Waived for KFUPM graduates and graduates of universities in English-speaking countries: USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. |
| Professional Experience | A minimum of two years of full-time work experience after graduation.* |
| Quantitative Preparation | Completion of one college-level mathematics course and one statistics course, or successful completion of the approved pre-program module. |
* Candidates with exceptional profiles who do not fully meet these criteria may be considered on a case-by-case basis.