Finalists revealed for Ruler of Dubai’s $1m innovation prize – The National

Finalists revealed for Ruler of Dubai’s $1m innovation prize – The National

Twenty funding pitches by start-ups come against backdrop of disruption and poverty caused by global pandemic





























Badr Al Olama, head of the organising committee for the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, which hands out the prize each year, said the coronavirus pandemic has led to greater need for innovative solutions that can help the world's most disadvantaged people. Courtesy: Global Maker Challenge











Twenty finalists for a $1 million prize set up by the Ruler of Dubai were revealed on Monday, ahead of an awards ceremony in September.



The group of start-ups will deliver their pitches for the Global Maker Challenge, against a backdrop of economic struggles and poverty linked to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers said.



The shortlisted 20 have harnessed technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, smart materials or cloud networks that could help disadvantaged communities around the world.



Finalists include companies with products that connect farmers in the developing world with international buyers, and inventors of fibres that could cut pollution and waste in the global fashion industry.









We must double our efforts in utilising innovation to address humanitarian challenges