From Dubai Startup Hub
Beating 1,200 applications from 144 countries, 26 projects from 22 countries have been selected to be part of the third cycle of Expo Live’s Innovation Impact Grant Program, an initiative launched by Expo 2020 Dubai dedicated to fund and support “creative solutions that improve lives while preserving our world.”
From social ventures centering on renewable energy, fintech, agriculture, education, mental health, to empowering women and low-income households in rural areas, and more, the new additions will join the existing community of Expo Live’s grant recipients dubbed as ‘Global Innovators’, totaling to 70 grantees from 42 countries.
Expo Live provides each project a grant of up to US$100,00, which will be made available upon meeting ongoing conditions. Besides receiving mentorship, guidance and promotional opportunities, they also have the chance to showcase their work to visitors at Expo 2020 Dubai. Yousuf Caires, Vice President of Expo Live at Expo 2020 Dubai comments on the grant that innovation can “come from anywhere to everyone.” According to a statement, he added, “This is a major component of our redefinition of what a World Expo can and should do: tap into its convening power well before the event to enable problem-solvers around the globe to promote innovation and build partnerships that leave a lasting legacy not only in the UAE and the region but across the world.”
With the support of the Expo Live grant, the startups –of which, four startups are from UAE and Bahrain- are set to maximize the opportunity too. UAE-based TeachMENow, a startup offering on-demand and live teaching sessions, intends to utilize the capital to expand the platform, while the Ustad Mobile app -which enables users in low-income cities to access educational content without access to internet data- plans to use the grant to adapt its content to be accessible offline and implement workshops in various places. Bahrain-based startup Fish.me, an app which links fisherman and consumers to ease supply chain, said they plan to utilize the grant to develop in-app payment options and develop value-added services to fisherman by providing sales data insights, while Public Planet Partnership, a framework allowing users to work with natural capital, aims to use the grant to help implement its projects.
