The winner was awarded an exclusive funded implementation of his solution through a pilot programme
Dubai Holding organised the global sustainability challenge "Innovate for Tomorrow." Frank Cato Lahti from Othalo Norway, who upcycled plastic into home solutions, won the challenge. He was awarded an exclusively funded solution implementation through a pilot programme with Dubai Holding, the group's top expert guide.
Lahti said, "This challenge represents the most incredible opportunity to partner with Dubai Holding, allowing us a springboard into the Mena region and the world. Dubai Holding has a power of execution that few others have, and this region has consistently pushed the boundaries and made the impossible possible. Thank you again to Dubai Holding and its execution partner Tecom Group's in5 business incubator,".
Rana Hajirasouli from the Surpluss, UAE, was awarded as the runner-up for her "Transforming Excess into Equal Access" solution. The other finalists were Manhat, UAE; Mi Terro, USA; and Midori, UAE. The winner and runner-up were granted one-year access to Tecom Group's in5 business incubator, the challenge's execution partner. The five finalists will benefit from Dubai Holding's extensive support network and attend a pitch day event featuring a group of future investors. The "Innovate for Tomorrow" challenge attracted entrants from across 31 countries, 68% of which were UAE-based companies.
Nearly 30 per cent of the companies that applied had a female founder, and 81 per cent of the scale-ups that entered were operational. Simply focus areas of the entrants included over a third of the total participants looking at waste reduction, recycling and reusing, 24 per cent focused on solving supply chain sustainability issues and 22 per cent looking at resource efficiency. A further 15 per cent of the entrants focussed on assisting consumer education and raising awareness of the critical problems linked to sustainability.
"The high quality and diversity of ideas we received from these scale-up company innovators underscore the urgent need to implement innovative solutions to drive impact and lead the shift towards a circular economy," said Huda Buhumaid, Chief Impact Officer of Dubai Holding.
Majed Al Suwaidi, the senior vice president of Dubai Media City at Telecom Group, on behalf of in5, said that enabling entrepreneurship is vital for catalysing change and driving sustainable, future-focused economic progression.
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