Applicants are invited to apply for the 6th cycle of the Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme to support novel solutions that address pressing environmental/ climate challenges, with the promise of a brighter future for the planet.
Donor Name: Expo City Dubai
Country: Global
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/01/2023
Size of the Grant: up to USD 50,000
Details:
The programme aims to provide much-needed funding to both developed and less developed markets, building a platform and opportunity for knowledge exchange and co-creation.
Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme will fund projects that are beyond the ideation stage. The intent is to build a portfolio of projects that range from prototype stage (testing and validating a working model), implementation (in-market and continuous product or service improvement), to scale up (expanding the product or service to a larger scale).
While Expo 2020 Dubai may have come to a close, the spirit of “Connecting minds” lives on through the transformative initiatives that were highlighted during the event, Expo Live being an example. The programme and the impact work of Expo Live’s Global Innovators will continue as part of Expo City Dubai, with the aim of scaling and maximising impact.
A reflection of Expo 2020 Dubai’s – and now Expo City Dubai’s – long-term commitment to deliver positive social, economic and environmental change, the search marks the sixth edition of Expo Live since it was announced in 2013 as part of the UAE’s bid to host the World Expo. The criteria for Cohort Six will coincide with the upcoming COP28 – The Emirates Climate Conference with the UNFCCC, taking place at Expo City Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023.
In light of this, the focus areas of this cycle will draw on the overarching theme of Climate Resilience, thereby honouring the commitment of Expo 2020 Dubai and now, Expo City Dubai to understand and nurture the bond that connects people, society and habitats and to find new paths for prosperity that can lead to a viable future.
Innovative solutions are therefore geared towards tackling environmental challenges, with sectors ranging from renewables scaling, to water systems, waste management, nature and land use, and more.
Innovation can come from anywhere. The aim of Expo Live is to identify and support ideas that have the potential to benefit communities and the natural world by encouraging innovators and other solution-seekers to work together in novel ways.
Objectives
- Innovation: Make Expo City Dubai a hub for global innovations that both inspires, and acts as a catalyst for creative and scalable solutions
- Partnerships: Establish a network for collaboration between nations, organisations, and innovators via shared environmental challenges
- Impact: Create tangible impact that improves the lives of people around the world and the status of their planet, by supporting the development and application of new solutions
- Engagement: Foster a community of agents of change by first sensitizing them to climate challenges, and then engaging with them to collectively create impact solutions
Funding Information
- Expo Live’s flagship Impact Grant Programme will award injection funds up to USD 50,000 to support the growth of social enterprises, start-ups and grassroots projects from around the world whose solutions generate social value in line with the legacy of Expo 2020 Dubai, and the ambition of Expo City Dubai.
- Funding levels will depend on the stage of maturity and scalability of innovations, its intended duration, and the extent of its impacts among others. Beyond grant funding, successful grant recipients will also have access to networking and partnership opportunities, marketing and communications exposure, as well as additional funding enabling their solutions to be showcased during the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), hosted by Expo City Dubai Authority. The programme will also build partnerships with local business incubators, accelerators, mentors and investors in order to strengthen and promote active and productive ecosystems.
Eligibility Criteria
The grant programme is an inclusive programme open to problem solvers from around the world ranging from individual entrepreneurs, SMEs, non for-profit organizations, and government related entities. Applicants will be able to submit one application per a grant application cycle.
For more information, visit Expo City Dubai.
