Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), announced that the Startupbootcamp has selected 11 startups to take part in its third cohort of the Dubai Smart City Accelerator, a three-month program focused on building Smart City innovation in Dubai.
Launched in 2017, the Dubai Smart City Accelerator is powered by Startupbootcamp and hosted at the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (Dtec), the largest tech coworking space in the Middle East that is wholly owned by DSOA. DSCA is an award-winning program established by DSOA, du, Dubai Chamber, Smart Dubai, Visa, Orange Business Services, and RIT Dubai. In addition to funding the program, these key partners provide expertise, exposure channels, and unparalleled access to their deep smart city network of industry professionals and mentors from around the world.
During a four-month recruitment period, the Startupbootcamp team hosted Office Hours and Fast Tracks in 28 countries globally to identify the most promising Smart City-focused startups aligned with the Accelerator’s verticals: IoT & Connectivity, Urban Automation & Mobility, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Open City Data, Sustainable Cities & Living, Smart Government, and Smart Retail.
“We are excited about this cohort as it marks a shift from bringing in international startups to the region as done in previous years,” said Ibrahim Seksek, Managing Director of the Dubai Smart City Accelerator. “Now that we have a cohort with a majority of regional companies, our value proposition changes for the startups. We are now a Dubai hub that is a stepping stone to the world for regional startups.”
The winners selected for the 2019 cohort are:
- Carers (Jordan) A family care marketplace dedicated to connecting households and caregivers
- BasilLabs (USA) BasilLabs helps organizations tap into digital and in-store consumer intelligence to craft stronger brands and target their audiences with pinpoint accuracy.
- Controlcast (Jordan) A digital out of home advertising platform that’s accessible to everyone
- Dressire (India) AI for retailers to know & acquire users online & in-stores and forecast trends
- Global Miles (Turkey) World’s First Blockchain Frequent Flyer Program & Platform
- Lightified (UAE) Professional lighting. Simplified.
- Monocle Reality (UAE) Remapping the world in Augmented Reality
- Near Motion LLC (Saudi Arabia) Connecting Dots With Mobile Engagement Solutions
- Receet (Palestine) Digital Receipts pushed instantly to consumer smartphones
- Revotonix (Lebanon) Specialized in developing fully autonomous mobile robots
- Shorages (UAE) An on-demand storage & warehousing platform
The Accelerator program has successfully graduated two cohorts thus far and is running its third cohort from October 2019 to January 2020. Over three months they will receive hands-on mentorship from over 100 industry experts, office space in Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus, seed funding, and access to a global network of investors and corporate partners from across the Smart City industry. The program concludes with Demo Day on January 14th where the startups will pitch to over 200 investors and partners.
Once accelerated, the startups join Startupbootcamp’s global alumni network consisting of more than 800 enterprises from 50 countries worldwide.
Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General, Smart Dubai, said: “Our support for startups reflects the vision of our wise leadership and its dedication to be the largest commercial incubator empowering entrepreneurs to succeed and carry on with their projects”.
Dr. Aisha added: “We, at Smart Dubai, are delighted to be among the partners working on the Dubai Smart City Accelerator, and look forward to the ideas and projects the participants will put forth – plans that have the potential of driving forward Dubai’s efforts to establish itself as the happiest and smartest city on earth.”
