Global Maker Challenge winners revealed by Global Prosperity Initiative

Winners for the ‘Cohort 2’ Global Maker Challenge have been announced by the Mohammad bin Rashid Initiatives for Global Prosperity.

The initiative had declared the names of 20 finalists who will compete for the coveted Global Maker Challenge Award which on 27 July who made present Virtual Pitches of their solutions from August 31, 2020.

The Simbi Foundation, ColdHubs, POKET and Plastics for Change are the four winners who along with the eight runner-ups are entitled to monetary prizes, mentoring support and access to global organizations, worth up to $1 million.

The winners were selected based on assessments made by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s SOLVE initiative (MIT SOLVE) and a panel of 47 globally acclaimed subject matter and innovations experts.

The Initiative also selected startups named ID2020, Stixfresh, Agricycle Global and AlgiKnit as the “most disruptive” solutions and they will get an opportunity to associate with global organizations to get directions and mentorship through a program conducted in partnership with Cambridge University.

These four startups will also get guidance and support from global organizations as part of the Global Prosperity Award mentorship program to get over their non-financial issues.

The winners were announced in a virtual ceremony as part of the #Make4ProsperityWeek, which had more than 6,800 viewers from around the globe. The ceremony had sessions were the finalists presented their ideas and discussions and keynotes by experts.

Addressing the ceremony, Head of the Organising Committee for the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS), Badar Al-Olama said, “the whole world has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, but the strength of this year’s Cohort has given us hope for the future. Our maker’s community put forward localized solutions for global problems, and through collaborative management between stakeholders, we can ensure that these inspiring innovations reach those who need it most.”

Cohort 2 was launched in November 2019 at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) 8th Ministerial Conference of the Least Developed Countries in Abu Dhabi and it received more than 3,400 applications from 148 countries.