With its central theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three sub themes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, Expo 2020 Dubai will convene the global community and inspire people to work together in new ways in order to build a brighter future.
First of all, we would like to thank Jana Elkova, Head of Legacy & Innovation Impact Grant Programme at Expo Live, for agreeing to respond to our questions.
1) Let us start with a brief introduction of Expo 2020 Dubai and its objectives.
Expo 2020 Dubai is a World Expo that will take place over six months from 20 October 2020 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo held in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region in the 169-year history of World Expos, and the largest event ever staged in the Arab World.
It will be a festival and a platform where millions of visitors from across the world will come together and connect with each other, share ideas, learn and innovate. With its central theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three sub themes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, Expo 2020 Dubai will convene the global community and inspire people to work together in new ways in order to build a brighter future. There will be something for everyone at this once-in-a-lifetime celebration, which will welcome 192 participating countries, each of which will have their own pavilion, as well as artists and academics, pop stars and pioneering thinkers, culinary wizards and corporate gurus, tech ninjas and tomorrow’s leaders.
Expo 2020 aspires to create a meaningful legacy that will benefit generations to come, both locally and globally, spanning everything from innovations and architecture to friendships and business opportunities. This is also a reason why Expo 2020 established an Online Marketplace where SMEs from around the world can network, advertise products and services, and compete for business opportunities.
2) Please tell us about the Innovation Impact Grant Programme. What are you trying to achieve through this Programme?
The Innovation Impact Grant Programme is a flagship initiative of Expo Live, Expo 2020 Dubai’s global innovation and partnership programme. Through this programme, Expo 2020 joins the global community in helping to address critical social, environmental and humanitarian challenges around the world, including those identified in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Simultaneously, the programme builds a pipeline of unique social innovations that will be showcased during Expo 2020.
This programme provides grants to grassroots innovators, enables acceleration and builds a platform for knowledge exchange and co-creation. In addition to funding, grantees – known as ‘Global Innovators’ – receive exposure, marketing, networking and partnership opportunities with national and international private establishments, government entities, events and media. Successful solutions will be showcased during Expo 2020 through displays, presentations, workshops and panel discussions, further accelerating and scaling up solutions that improve people’s quality of life and the health of the planet.
3) How many cycles have you run so far? Can you please summarise key takeaways and achievements of the Programme to date?
As the first programme established in the UAE and the wider GCC dedicated solely to supporting social enterprises around the world, Expo Live is a pioneer in supporting social entrepreneurship and innovation in the region.
Expo Live has received more than 11,000 applications from 184 countries, covering a wide range of sectors including healthcare, environment, fintech, agritech, community development, housing, transportation and safety. We have funded 120 social enterprises from 65 countries to date with grants of up to USD 100,000 per organisation. We are now in the process of evaluating and shortlisting grant applications for the Innovation Impact Grant Programme’s fifth cycle.
Out of more than 30,000 startup-related initiatives posted on the F6S, a global platform dedicated to entrepreneurship, Expo Live places within the top five in terms of the total number of applications received. We are also proud that 40 per cent of our grantees are female-led organisations.
Expo Live has connected grantees with a range of organisations, including businesses, investors, government ministries and multilateral organisations, as well as several Expo 2020 Country Pavilions – and we expect many more valuable connections throughout the six months of the event. Through Expo Live, our grantees have already participated in such initiatives as UNDP SDG Finance Summit, GITEX Technology Week, Global Entrepreneurship Network and Global Business Forum.
4) What is the timeline for your next cycle? And what would be your advice for innovators who seek to apply for your Programme?
The sixth cycle of the Innovation Impact Grant Programme will be held during Expo 2020. All interested innovators are encouraged to submit an inquiry, so they receive automatic notification when the call for applications launches.
My advice to applicants is to clearly describe the nature and scale of the problem they are addressing, backing the statements with key factual data. In the description of the solution, it is critical to explain the potential of commercial sustainability – in other words, its ability to become a viable commercial venture capable of making a long term meaningful impact. This should encourage applicants to think about a viable business model – a decisive factor in the success of the venture.
Given grant evaluators may not always be experts in the specific field, I encourage innovators to use simple language instead of complex technical terminologies. Expo Live puts higher emphasis on an innovator’s personal story, uniqueness of the solution and its desired impact. Finally, I advise applicants to consider scalability – the potential of the solution to be implemented across markets for wider impact.
5) According to your web site, Expo 2020 Dubai will run from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021. How will the Innovation Impact Grant Programme evolve post 2021?
Our intention is that Expo Live will continue as a tangible legacy of Expo 2020 Dubai, with a transformative power to aid social innovators on their journey to help solve critical challenges of today’s world. Our vision is to expand the means of support to meet specific needs of social innovators, helping to further grow impact entrepreneurship and the innovation ecosystem regionally and globally.
This vision is aligned with Expo 2020 Dubai legacy plan whereby more than 80 per cent of the Expo-built structures will live on in the future city of District 2020. This will comprise 65,000 sqm of residential space and 135,000 sqm of commercial space in a location that will be home to world-class innovation, educational, cultural and entertainment facilities.
I am currently leading a process of assessing and designing the post-Expo form of Expo Live. It is an exciting journey during which the unknowns are addressed deliberately in order to identify the optimal form of delivery. However, I already know that engagement, interaction and collaboration with key ecosystem stakeholders will remain important success factors in this effort.
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Jana Elkova
Head of Legacy & Innovation Impact Grant Programme
Expo Live
