Expo 2020 partners with Wamda to drive collaborative entrepreneurship

Dubai: The Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau is coordinating to put start-ups in contact with bigger companies.

A total of 15 start-ups, such as Innovo, ASM Technologies and Pixel Bug, presented their products to representatives from multinationals at the Collaborative Entrepreneurship Summit in Dubai on Thursday, organised by Expo 2020 Dubai and Wamda, an enabling platform for entrepreneurs in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

Marjan Faraidooni, Vice President of Legacy at Expo 2020 Dubai, said that the participation of start-ups in the event is “for us to get to know more of them and introduce them to all of our participants and also to potentially work with them on these products and integrating them within the expo.”

She said platforms like the summit “create meaningful connections for corporates and start-ups.”

“The Expo will have a fundamental planning period until 2020 and we’re looking at initiatives to see how we can include SMEs [small and medium sized enterprises] and start-ups in this process of planning and delivering on Expo,” she told Gulf News on the sidelines of the event.

Alongside events like the Collaborative Entrepreneurship Summit, Expo 2020 has also launched Business Connect, a series of workshops to discuss with businesses the opportunities available to them as a result of hosting the expo.

To get involved in the expo, start-ups will need to offer services that meet the requirements of Expo 2020, according to Faraidooni. The event is looking for businesses operating in different sectors, such as food and beverage.

“We have a procurement process in place to ensure that our process integrates SMEs and start-ups in the process of procuring for services and products across different value chains of operation for the expo and after the expo,” she added.

Jad Berro of Beirut-based Innovo, which builds machines like drones and robots, said that he took part in the summit to “see if we can collaborate with other people. Some companies may have some ideas that we can make for them. [the event] gives us exposure.”