Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund Accelerator Programme’s cohort accepts 24 innovative businesses

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF), an initiative launched by the Ministry of Finance to support innovation in the UAE, has announced that 24 new innovative businesses have been accepted into its Accelerator Programme.

This programme is in line with MBRIF’s commitment to foster a culture of innovation and support the UAE’s thriving innovation ecosystem.

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The Accelerator Programme is one of MBRIF’s key initiatives that offers innovators the opportunity to validate their business plans, scale up operations, promote growth and gain access to new markets and potential investors that can help them shape their offerings in line with the market needs.

MBRIF’s key initiatives that offers innovators the opportunity to validate their business plans.

Commenting on the announcement, Fatima Al Naqbi, Ministry of Finance representative of MBRIF, said, "We are pleased to welcome the new cohort into our Accelerator Programme and look forward to supporting them in their entrepreneurial journey by equipping them with the tools they require to take their innovations to the next level,” according to WAM.

"Today, the UAE is home to a melting pot of innovative businesses with entrepreneurs hailing from different backgrounds and diverse fields. This spells the need for reliable partners such as MBRIF to nurture innovations and entrepreneurship in the region and further accelerate the UAE’s knowledge-based economy."

The new cohort, the largest to date, was selected from over 150 applications. Thirteen of the selected new members and businesses are headquartered in the UAE while 11 are internationally originated companies from across three continents, with most of them already having a presence in the UAE.

Of the new members, 50 per cent are at the growth stage, 25 per cent market entry stage and 25 per cent prototype stage. The new cohort programme officially begins in September 2021.

The cohort comprises innovators who are breaking new ground in critical sectors identified by the UAE’s National Innovation Strategy including Education, Health, Renewable and Clean Energy, Technology, Transportation and Water.