The first 10 UAE entrepreneurs have been selected by the Expo City Dubai Foundation to receive funds, training and support as part of a new Changemakers Academy.
Each of the winners will receive a grant of up to Dh50,000 ($13,613), a business licence and a workspace at the academy in Alif, or the Mobility Pavilion, on the Expo City Dubai site.
The start-ups were selected from 16 teams who made it to the final round. Winning projects include wearable devices to give blind people real-time spatial information, a smart system that uses sensors to alert residents about floods, an AI-powered tool to monitor mangroves, and hands-on training on a satellite kit for young students.
Abdullah Al Salmani, 25, an Emirati engineer who was selected, described it as an incredible opportunity to scale up his company, which brings satellite building into classrooms.
The award will help to connect him with potential investors and reach more high schools and universities so students gain technology training using modular satellite kits.
“We have found that school students don’t get a chance to identify their career paths because they don’t get the chance to experience what they will work with when they are in the workforce,” said the Al Ain resident, who has worked as a systems engineer with the National Space Science and Technology Centre.
“It’s the same with university students: many don’t work on actual projects that simulate the workplace. We have chosen space and satellites as a niche but our main aim is to dive deeper into satellite components and subsystems and give students experience with these robotic kits.”
The start-up has already held workshops for more than 560 pupils in the UAE and groups of students in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt. Space workshops start at Dh500 per student.
Transforming lives
Yousuf Caires, executive director of Expo City Dubai Foundation, said the academy was launched because “transformative ideas require an entire ecosystem to thrive”.
“We’re inspired by the creativity and commitment of these changemakers, whose solutions have real potential to improve the lives of people in our communities,” Mr Caires said.
He said Expo would provide a space so these “bright minds can collaborate, access resources and ultimately turn their boldest visions into tangible projects that benefit both society and our environment”.
The aim is to help the teams access mentors who could support these transformations.
Expo authorities worked with Dubai’s Community Development Authority to identify priority areas, including traffic congestion, accessible design and sustainable food, for entrepreneurs to formulate solutions.
Mohammed Al Mheiri, director of the CDA’s social regulations department, said he looked forward to seeing how the young entrepreneurs transformed ideas into meaningful solutions.
“This initiative exemplifies the power of cross-sector collaboration, bringing together government, academia, the private sector and civil society with a unified purpose: to address a range of societal needs and build a more sustainable and inclusive future,” he said.
The Expo City Foundation received more than 140 applications for the year-long programme.
