Dubai: Since its inception in May 2017, AREA 2071, the innovation ecosystem of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), has hosted more than 780 physical and over 80 virtual events, including conferences, forums, workshops and interactive sessions, that have attracted more than 26,000 participants from around the world.
The ecosystem has also organized many innovation programmes, including ones from TechStars and Microsoft; and has run 7 successful accelerator programs, welcoming over 660 participants, representing 227 startups, 45 of which have established offices in the UAE, resulting in the creation of 600 jobs.
AREA 2071 has issued its annual report that summarizes its achievements to date and extends an invitation for like-minded individuals to be part of this vibrant ecosystem and to collectively create the future.
AREA 2071 runs a wide variety of innovation programs as well as startup accelerators and incubators in partnership with government entities and international companies. Its packed agenda has featured 230+ startup enablement sessions, 100+ entrepreneurship sessions, 140+ sessions aimed at exploring the future of vital sectors, 120+ youth and women’s empowerment sessions, and 250+ knowledge and skills sharing sessions. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform has kept the momentum going by switching from physical events to the virtual format and successfully running 80+ virtual events.
Global hub
“AREA 2071 is a global hub for exploring and designing the future that serves as a meeting point for the public and private sectors to support national efforts to achieve the objectives of the UAE Centennial 2071, including positioning the UAE as the best country in the world,” said Abdulaziz Al Jaziri, Deputy CEO and COO of DFF.
AREA 2071 houses several labs dedicated to key sectors of the future, in addition to initiatives aimed at designing, testing and implementing promising concepts and projects, such as the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution UAE (C4IR UAE), Dubai Future Labs (DFL), Youth Hub, Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA), the Ministry of Possibilities and the Regulations Lab.
The platform assists startups and entrepreneurs by offering competitive company licensing offers, business golden visas, office spaces as well as organizing relevant events. It also facilitates access to government agencies and investors in the UAE and the wider region.
Its focus sectors include aviation, healthcare, public services, food security, cybersecurity, social development, education, space, transportation, logistics and supply chain, artificial intelligence and 4IR technologies.
Dubai Future Accelerators
DFA is a cohort-based programme aimed at solving a broad spectrum of business and innovation challenges sourced from government and corporate entities. To date, 288 startups from 34 countries participated in more than 80 challenges across eight cohorts. Of these, 45 companies have established offices in the UAE, creating over 600 jobs.
The programme has resulted in 89 pilot projects and AED75 million in equity funds raised in addition to the signing of 153 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with potential partners. Moreover, twenty-seven percent of the participating startups have signed contracts worth Dh36 million with DFA’s partner entities, while 90 percent have entered agreements with other entities in the UAE, valued at Dh25 million.
