Abu Dhabi: Young entrepreneurs with innovative and bright sustainable ideas can now expect a major helping hand through the Catalyst programme, a joint venture involving Masdar, Masdar Institute, and BP (BP).

As part of the new programme announced at Masdar City on Sunday, start-up applicants who are successful will receive funding, training and access to key industry experts and investors.

“Creating a culture of innovation requires engagement with the public, which is what the Catalyst does, providing anyone from the public who has an idea that can be turned into a company with an innovative solution,” said Dr Ahmad Belhoul, CEO of Masdar.

“We believe the people who live, work, and study here can find the best solutions,” he added.

Dr Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost of Masdar Institute, said the Catalyst programme would help move the UAE towards the knowledge-based economy the government has called for.

“We are developing young people who can think outside the box, putting in place a system that addresses the needs of the region, and how best to use their ideas by turning them into viable projects that can be used commercially,” she said.

“Now is the time for us to create a platform to transfer technology and information,” she added.

Abdul Karim Al Mazmi, President and General Manager for BP UAE, said: “BP’s contribution is twofold, the first one is from the financial aspect, we have agreed to provide financial support and to fund the operation for the next five years,” he said.

“Secondly, we want to bring our global experience and the lessons we have learnt. At BP we receive thousands of ideas every year and select only a few, so we want to bring that knowledge here at Masdar to make sure the right ideas are brought through,” he added.

Al Mazmi stressed that his definition of success for the programme would be based on the quality rather than the quantity of projects being approved. “If we approve 20 ideas and five of them graduate to the next stage of success, that for me is a good tangible result. We are looking for a positive quality outcome,” he said.

Dr Belhoul was also keen to point out the difference between the Catalyst programme and other projects that help start-ups.

“From our point of view, the more projects that help start-up businesses the better. However, what differentiates our initiative from others is that we are mainly focused on sustainable technologies,” he said.

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Where to apply?

Applicants can submit their proposal online at http://www.thecatalyst.ae