GEC NEWS WIREDubai is calling on the world’s most innovative companies to help find solutions to the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The third cycle of its flagship Dubai Future Accelerators program, run by the Dubai Future Foundation, focuses on building partnerships and developing regulatory friendly environments that support deep technology start-ups with the potential to radically improve the world.
Beginning in October this year, government entities and technology partners will join forces to develop innovative solutions for healthcare, education, travel, energy, water, and more. The program integrates 4th Industrial Revolution-inspired technologies such as AI, robotics, blockchain, 3D printing, genetics, and virtual reality, with the government providing regulatory support to develop pilot projects at the city-wide scale.
The first two editions of the program recorded overwhelming success, attracting more than 4,000 applications from the world’s most innovative companies. Out of the 65 accepted companies in the first two cycles, 74% signed a with a government partner to work on pilot projects.
In the third cycle, the program will launch a new humanitarian accelerator in partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives. This is a first of its kind in the Arab World that will connect technology start-ups with UAE’s humanitarian sector to multiply their positive impact. It will focus on creating job opportunities for refugees, educating refugee children and increasing Arabic literacy, as well as testing new solutions for water sanitation in underprivileged countries.
Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Accelerators, said: “Over the past year, we have enjoyed remarkable success in terms of the enthusiasm of participating government entities and the number of partnerships signed with pioneering companies. This year, we will see new partners come on board to collaborate with global innovators to create advanced working models and future solutions. This will consolidate the UAE’s – and Dubai’s – position as a leading test bed of government support for technologies that tackle the biggest challenges of our time.”
