It's always sunny in Dubai, international startups find

The Blockchain Challenge saw 21 global blockchain startup finalists fly in to Dubai from 18 cities to compete for the prize money and a chance to implement top innovative blockchain solutions for the city.

The Smart Dubai Office on Tuesday concluded its first Blockchain Challenge, with international startup, Sun Exchange, taking home the grand prize after beating 20 other challengers.
The Blockchain Challenge saw 21 global blockchain startup finalists fly in to Dubai from 18 cities to compete for the prize money and a chance to implement top innovative blockchain solutions for the city. The winning start-ups now have an opportunity to pilot their products in Dubai and contribute to the Dubai Blockchain Strategy, which was announced by the Smart Dubai Office and the Dubai Future Foundation in October 2016 with an objective to make Dubai the first Blockchain-powered city by 2020.
Abraham Cambridge, founder and CEO of The Sun Exchange took the first place prize of $20,000. Mark Balovnev from Educhain placed second and won $15,000; while the third place prize of $10,000 went to Scott Austin from Everledger.
Dr. Aisha bin Bishr, director general of the Smart Dubai Office, congratulated the winners for their role in the Dubai Blockchain Strategy, saying the results demonstrate what is possible when people and cities work together. "The Dubai Blockchain Challenge has engaged with the most innovative start-ups across the globe, to push the boundaries of what is possible when we embrace emerging technologies to improve lives."
"The young men and women who participated in the Dubai Blockchain Challenge are contributing their valuable experience to achieving the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Rule of Dubai, to make Dubai the happiest city on earth," she said. "Their breakthrough solutions will mean better city experiences for everyone in the very near future."
Speaking to Khaleej Times after the winning announcement, Abraham Cambridge said that he was delighted to have won the challenge, and shared more information on his company.
"The Sun Exchange is a finance platform for solar energy that enables anyone to own solar panels and earn income from them," he said. "The solar panels that they own are located on buildings around the cities that they are in. The way that they earn income from them is that they are essentially leasing the use of their solar panels to those buildings. This works for people that are into renewables, those that are conscious about the impact to the environment, and those that are looking for a steady source of income. You can install the solar panels on schools, universities, and other buildings, helping them to reduce their energy bills, while earning a passive clean energy income stream for yourself."
This is not just applied to Dubai or the UAE, he added, revealing that the company already has solar panels in various other parts of the world such as villages in Africa. "You can consider blockchain as the new Internet, and there are going to be various different applications on blockchain. The application that we are launching is a fintech product that is built for clean energy. Its an open system which allows anyone to participate in solar energy financing; we would like to think of it as democratising solar energy finance," he said.
The Dubai Blockchain Strategy is co-founded by Smart Dubai in collaboration with Dubai Future Foundation. Under the strategy, Smart Dubai is driving the implementation of the emerging technology, in line with its mission to embrace technology innovation to make Dubai a more seamless, safe, efficient and personalised city.
"There is no better way to ensure a bright future for the people of Dubai than to foster innovation as a means to encourage innovators to register unprecedented successes," said Wesam Lootah, CEO of the Smart Dubai Government Establishment. "Today's winners will set an example for many around the world to emulate and work for the benefit of mankind. This global competition places Dubai at the fore in terms of innovation, and opens new doors for the applications of blockchain technology."
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com