Expo City Dubai to fund green projects to fight climate change

Global programme will support and mentor outstanding start-ups in the lead-up to Cop28

An app by AgUnity gives farmers the chance to use technology to improve their livelihoods. Expo launched a search for similar projects to combat climate change. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

AgUnity lets farmers buy and sell produce on affordable smartphones. The start-up was among the companies that secured funding from Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: AgUnity

The Expo Live programme gave grants to companies like Ignitia in West Africa to produce reliable weather forecasts to small-scale farmers. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Compost Baladi, a Lebanese company, collects food waste so bio waste can be used as fertiliser. The company was among 140 start-ups awarded grants by Expo. Photo: Baladi's Earth Cubes

The Good Place Pavilion by Expo Live displayed innovations that transformed lives around the world. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Green energy and sustainable farming projects by grassroots organisations were part of the Good Place Pavilion by Expo Live at Expo City Dubai. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

A mobile application from Bangladesh aims to finance a child's education. The display drew crowds to the Good Place Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

The Good Place Pavilion is one of the legacy pavilions of Expo Live that remain after Expo 2020 Dubai concluded. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

A fresh round for the Expo Live Innovation programme has been announced with successful projects showcased during Cop28 in the UAE. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Successful entrepreneurs will get to present their projects during Cop28 in the UAE at Expo City Dubai. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Yousuf Caires, executive director, Expo Live Innovation Programme, said Expo was on the lookout for innovators with solutions to address climate change. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Desert Control from Norway devised a liquid nano clay substance that increases farm yields, one of 140 projects to win an Expo grant. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Using kites to capture high-altitude wind and harness energy for remote areas was among the sustainable projects highlighted during Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Expo Live, a legacy project of Expo 2020 Dubai, is on the lookout for start-ups searching for concrete solutions to the climate crisis and combat global warming.

Selected companies will be awarded a $50,000 grant for work related to reforestation, reduction of greenhouse gases or improving agricultural productivity.

Successful innovators will have the opportunity to display their work at Cop28, scheduled at Expo City Dubai at the end of the year.

The Expo Live Innovation Programme has received 430 applications from around the world since its launch earlier this month.

“There was always the vision for Expo Live to remain post-Expo, but this round is very special because it’s aligned with Cop,” Yousuf Caires, executive director of the Expo Live Innovation Programme, told The National.

“We will give attention to projects that focus on climate-related solutions.

“We are in the year of sustainability and in the year when Expo City Dubai will host Cop28 come November.

“Bringing innovators here during the two weeks of Cop28 to exhibit their projects will give them the right exposure so they can be seen, participate in discussions and can connect even further.”

Who is eligible

To attend, entrepreneurs must have a registered company and their solution needs to be in the market or close to launch.

“They need to express the positive impact their solution creates for the environment, how it affects food security or adapts to the energy transition,” Mr Caires said.

There is no specific number of how many innovators will be selected, this will depend on the strength of applications received.

The focus will be on candidates with projects that can transform the lives of neglected communities coping with drought or floods.

“We are interested in innovations that address problems of water and food security, air pollution, sustainable consumption and production,” he said.

“We are keen to understand how their innovations can help people suffering the most.

“We are keen on understanding how these solutions are applicable to tough environments where there are natural disasters mostly due to climate change, where people are displaced due to lack of food.”

Entrepreneurs whose projects are shortlisted will be invited to deliver a 15-minute presentation before judges at Expo City Dubai after the Eid break, probably in April.

The winners will be announced two weeks later.

Authentic voices at Cop28

The mission is to bring grassroots organisations addressing environmental challenges to Cop28 when it runs in Dubai from November 30 to December 12.

“These will be authentic, grassroots voices that it is important for an event like Cop to have,” Mr Caires said.

“They are not going to come talk about how bad the situation is. They will come and say what they are doing to fix it.

“It’s a different way of looking at a challenge ― an optimistic and solvable way.”

The winning projects will also have the chance to network with foundations, banks and global organisations present at Cop28.

Their base will be the Good Place pavilion, an origami-inspired tent-like structure at the Expo site.

It is among the legacy pavilions that remain and is home to the Expo Live programme.

Legacy project

Expo Live was fundamental to Expo 2020 Dubai as it set out to improve the lives of marginalised groups across national borders.

The initiative received about 12,000 applications from 184 countries and picked 140 projects that were displayed during the six-month world fair.

The programmes received grants of between $100,000 and $500,000 and ranged from experiments to fly kites to harness energy for remote villages, collecting plastic bags to fund schooling, and support for farmers with accurate weather forecasts.

“Expo Live was really proving the point that we need to continue to look in all corners of the world for the right solutions that are relevant and make sense to the places where they come from,” Mr Caires said.

“Our innovators share this very strong belief that it’s up to them and that they are going to solve this, whether it's climate change, breathable air, improving agricultural production, moving to renewables.

“This is part of creating a community of innovators and start-ups.”

The deadline for submissions is March 1 and entrepreneurs can apply on the Expo City Dubai website.