Dubai Future Foundation

About

Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) is the Government of Dubai entity responsible for foresight, future-design and innovation programmes. DFF was founded in 2016 by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees is H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. The CEO is H.E. Khalfan Juma Belhoul.

DFF's role in Dubai's eVTOL programme is upstream and convening rather than direct contractual franchise. The franchise authority for the air-taxi network is the RTA Dubai; airworthiness sits with GCAA. DFF's contribution comes through the Dubai Self-Driving Transport Strategy (target: 25% of trips driverless by 2030), the Dubai Programme to Enable Drone Transportation, the BVLOS Drone Delivery Programme, the Dubai Future Accelerators cohorts, and the Museum of the Future / World Governments Summit platforms used to announce eVTOL agreements.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. [dff-about] Dubai Future Foundation — About primary · accessed 2026-05-01
2. [dff-reach-us] Dubai Future Foundation — Reach Us primary · accessed 2026-05-01
3. [hamdan-belhoul-ceo] Office of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed — Belhoul named CEO of Dubai Future Foundation official-news · accessed 2026-05-01
4. [dff-drone-programme] Dubai Future Foundation — Sheikh Hamdan launches Dubai Programme to Enable Drone Transportation primary · accessed 2026-05-01
5. [dff-bvlos] Dubai Future Foundation — BVLOS Drone Delivery Program primary · accessed 2026-05-01
6. [dff-eanan-airshow] Dubai Future Foundation — Dubai Future Labs signs with UAE tech company Eanan at Dubai Airshow primary · accessed 2026-05-01
7. [dff-accelerators-rta] Dubai Future Foundation — Dubai Future Accelerators: Autonomous Vehicles & Augmented Reality primary · accessed 2026-05-01

Verification flags

• DFF is sometimes confused with RTA in secondary coverage; the 2017 Volocopter agreement was RTA-signed, not DFF-signed.
• DFF has not signed any direct contractual eVTOL operating agreement with Joby, Archer, EHang or Skyports as of 1 May 2026.
• Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the founder and patron of DFF; the Chairman of the Board of Trustees is Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
• GPS approximated to Emirates Towers (25.2174° N, 55.2796° E) per DFF Reach Us address.