Young enterprises accelerating towards the future

Dubai - Al Aleeli said the programme will be a continuous process with three cycles of 12 weeks and new companies will be selected in each of the cycles.

Majority of the 30 finalists picked to work closely with government entities as part of the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) are relatively young technological enterprises to the market.
According to officials, however, business size was not a criteria in the selection process.
They were speaking at a conference to reveal details about the first cycle of the 12-week intense programme that brings entrepreneurs and leading government departments together to create breakthrough solutions.
"We identified several challenges facing the country in achieving sustainability and selected companies based on their ability to solve these challenges through practical prototypes," said Saif Al Aleeli, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation.
The first of the three cycles of DFA was announced on October 3 to bring in technological advancements that will help make Dubai a sustainable city.
Al Aleeli said the programme will be a continuous process with three cycles of 12 weeks and new companies will be selected in each of the cycles.
"After each cycle, we will identify new challenges to be solved and will select companies accordingly," said Al Aleeli.
"As a relatively new country, Dubai is highlighting and celebrating technology startups, which is why it is attracting more people and more investment," said Paul Smith, head of the DFA programme.
Registration for the second cycle will be announced soon.
The first cycle received submissions from over 2,200 companies from 73 countries, of which only 2 per cent was accepted.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai