About
I like work that requires both judgment and follow-through.
I'm Adnan Dekedek. I work with organizations and founders on new ventures, innovation programs and AI adoption. I'm interested in how an idea holds up once people have to use it, fund it or make a decision about it.
How I got here
I trained as a civil engineer at New York University Abu Dhabi. At startAD, the accelerator powered by Tamkeen and anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi, I moved into corporate innovation and startup programs. Over almost four years, I worked with government and corporate clients including Aldar, Ripple, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and Aramco.
Whiteshield added a different kind of work: economic modeling, policy-impact analysis and strategy for government. It required close attention to assumptions and to what the available evidence could support.
I co-founded Upstart Bar in 2023, where I work on venture building, innovation strategy and AI adoption, from training government teams on AI to deploying AI agents for clients. Since July 2025, I have also been Associate Manager of Programs at MBZUAI's Incubation & Entrepreneurship Center, working on staff adoption of AI, founder programs and startup support.
Why I build tools as well
Some problems become clearer when I try to build something that addresses them. Training Control Center came from the practical demands of delivering workshops. The data and operations tools I'm developing come from similar needs in my work.
AI has made it possible for me to take a more direct role in that process. I set the requirements, work through the design choices and review what gets built. It gives me a closer understanding of the tools I help other people adopt.
Read the Training Control Center case study
I'm based in Abu Dhabi and work in Arabic and English. At university, I played varsity football for four years.
If there's a problem you think I could help with, I'd be glad to hear about it.