DUBAI: ‘Innovation 4 Impact’ Competition, a unique platform targeting the growing Islamic digital economy, took centre stage at the 2016 Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES 2016) as one of the Summit’s special programs.
The competition is organised by Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), and the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), in strategic partnership with Thomson Reuters.
Innovation 4 Impact is designed to support Islamic digital entrepreneurs from around the world obtain mentorship, advice, investment and scale their business ventures. Five distinguished finalists from around the world presented a five-minute pitch towards supporting Islamic digital economy, followed by a seven-minute Q&A from a panel of expert judges. The judges and the audience of the Global Islamic Economy Summit have also cast their votes for the winner. The winner, selected through the votes of the jury and the audience, will be announced tomorrow October 12, on the concluding today the Summit.
The five finalists are: Alem Health, represented by Aschkan Abdul Malek from Singapore; Divine Connect, represented by Mohamed Pazhoor from USA;
iGrow, represented by Muhaimin Iqbal from Indonesia; Intuition Intelligence Inc., represented Arif Ansari from USA; Kwn Education, represented by Hala AlTurki from UAE.
Applications were received from different regions, including Middle East, Asia, Americas, Europe and Africa. One lucky winner will receive a cash prize of $20,000 and a set of incubational services collectively valued at over US$10,000 — including the opportunity to set up office at the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Centre (DTEC), DSOA’s wholly owned technology incubation centre and the largest of its kind in the region.
“We would like to congratulate all those who made it to the finals. They are the most trendsetting examples of Islamic digital economy entrepreneurs. Their innovative business solutions are the true examples of how we can take Islamic economy to a new level. We look forward to the award ceremony on 12 October and to announcing the winner of Innovation 4 Impact 2016 edition,” said Bader Bu Hannad, Executive VP of Strategy and ICT at DSOA.
