Emirates , GE, And Etisalat Partner To Nurture Aviation And Travel Entrepreneurs

Aiming to incorporate innovation in the conventional aviation sector, and to support the UAE's ambitious plans for the industry, The Emirates Group along with GE and Etisalat have launched Intelak ("taking off" in Arabic), an aviation and travel technology entrepreneurship incubator. Through this joint initiative, the companies are inviting "passionate and talented" early-stage entrepreneurs and students to help them take the industry forward. Seeking to nurture ideas with the support of the physical space and network provided by DTEC, Intelak is accepting submissions till October 31, 2016 from 3-5 member teams with at least one UAE National as an "integral team member or co-founder." The target of such teams should be to "independently deliver a MVP to make travel simpler, better and more exciting," and such ideas will be judged based on "creativity, innovation, feasibility, and scalability."

According to Intelak, the idea must relate to improving any aspect in the realm of aviation and travel. Logistics in airports, loyalty programs, aircraft improvements, better food etc. are a few specified instances. In terms of the intake process, top 20 teams selected from the applications will go through a two-week bootcamp, which will include workshops on design, financial modeling, marketing, and other topics. After this training, the teams will then compete against each other in a pitch challenge, from which four teams will be chosen as winners. Besides a cash prize of up to AED 50,000, these teams will get enrolled in the Intelak incubator for a three-month program to develop their idea into a viable business. Besides the required mentorship, the teams will also receive access to the investor community to pitch for investment. That's not all—the website also states that, "they may also have co-creation or employment opportunities with the Emirates Group, GE, or Etisalat."

If you have an idea that could potentially alter the travel and aviation space, hurry and apply to be a part of Intelak.

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