Dubai: A fund to finance innovation projects has been created to boost the country’s approach towards innovation and facilitate the setting up of enterprises by innovative entrepreneurs.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Monday inaugurated the ‘Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Fund to Finance Innovation’ operational phase and the e-platform, which is set to receive funding requests from applicants.
The fund aims to fill the financing gap that innovative projects face and support the national and economic goals of building a diverse national economy based on innovation and knowledge to achieve sustainable prosperity in line with the National Innovation Strategy and make the UAE government one of the most innovative governments in the world.
Shaikh Mohammad underlined the importance of investment in long-term innovation and supporting Emirati innovators by empowering them to turn their ideas into innovative projects as a key pillar of the future government’s work, and a central goal to make the concept of innovation a deeply rooted culture and sustainable lifestyle in society.
Shaikh Mohammad made these remarks as he attended the Innovation Festival organised by the Ministry of Finance, to honour outstanding innovators during the UAE’s Innovation Week.
He said the UAE government has worked to create a enabling environment for innovation incubators by adopting models for financial and moral support that work on building capacities and upgrading national competencies. Shaikh Mohammad emphasised that in order to support innovation, an effective cooperation and community engagement are a must.
Following the inauguration of the first operational phase of the Fund to Finance Innovation, Shaikh Mohammad toured the festival’s stalls and acquainted himself with the various events held on its sidelines. He was accompanied by Younis Haji Al Khoury, undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, and a number of the ministry’s executives and representatives from government entities.
Shaikh Mohammad commenced his tour by attending the Hackathon challenge, which is held by the ministry in cooperation with Microsoft. The Hackathon is an intense programming activity that takes place for 36 hours and involves 100 students from six different universities in the UAE. The Hackathon develops innovative applications, which serve the key sectors of the National Innovation Strategy. This activity received great interest. More than 200 students applied and 100 students were shortlisted.
Shaikh Mohammad also attended several workshops specialised in business development, organised by the ministry in cooperation with 20 different entities from the private sector. The workshops discussed topics like innovative thinking, the transition from an idea to an invention, virtual reality and an introductory session on how to apply to the newly set-up fund. He also attended the ‘Young Innovators’ workshop for schoolchildren aged between 8 and 12 years, where attendees learnt about the design, programming and the use of robotics by using simple and accessible tools.
The ‘Innovation Festival’ provided a platform for innovators, government representatives, entrepreneurs, investors, participants, SME owners and visitors to network together. The platform enables them to present their creative ideas to interested investors from the public and private sectors to collaborate and further develop those ideas commercially. The festival also presented the ‘innovation challenge’ that identifies three challenges in health, environment and education sectors, and present them to a group of innovators around the world in order to receive their suggested innovative solutions.
The ministry received 65 innovative solutions from innovators from 21 different countries, and the three finalists met with the related federal entities to review, evaluate and study their solutions and the possibility of implementing them. The winners will be honoured at the closing ceremony of the festival.
