Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) met with 107 start-ups from around the world in a virtual seminar held by Dubai Future Foundation for companies participating in Cohort 8 of the Dubai Future Accelerators Programme. DEWA’s team presented the challenge for start-ups to develop innovative solutions to consolidate data across DEWA’s platforms to support decision-making.

“Thanks to the vision and directives of the wise leadership, the UAE, for the 5^th consecutive year, has maintained its first position in the Arab World in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020, which is issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD. Dubai has become a destination for the biggest technology organisations around the world. The Dubai Future Accelerators Programme, which is overseen by the Dubai Future Foundation, is a unique opportunity for start-ups to demonstrate their capabilities in developing innovative solutions to solve global challenges in different sectors. The programme’s results over the past years underline its role, as a pioneering platform that brings together start-ups from all around the world to work with Dubai government organisations to develop solutions to their challenges,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

“We are committed to supporting and encouraging start-ups to develop innovative solutions to the current and future challenges in all DEWA’s work. Our participation in the Dubai Future Accelerators Programme for the 8th time is part of our strategy to support and encourage innovation, research and development, and entrepreneurship; to achieve quick and tangible results to improve government services through leading and innovative approaches. DEWA’s challenge for this cycle is to develop a comprehensive data platform that empowers strategic and operational decision making, using the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, including Artificial Intelligence. DEWA will select four start-ups to develop innovative solutions to this challenge,” added Al Tayer.

Since its launch in 2016, DEWA has participated in 7 rounds of the Dubai Future Accelerators programme. It has evaluated over 400 start-ups, developed 16 pilot projects and is currently developing 5 more innovative pilot projects related to its services, digital transformation and smart infrastructure.