Expo Live's Latest Cohort Opens Applications For Climate-Related Solutions Ahead Of The UAE's Hosting Of COP28

Social entrepreneurs from across the globe can now submit their climate-related solutions and ideas to Expo Live, the innovation and partnership grant program initiated under Expo 2020 Dubai.

Applications for the program began on February 1, 2023, and will remain open until March 1, 2023. Among the criteria for selection are ideas that can be shared and replicated to create a widescale, positive environmental impact.

Once the application timeline is complete, shortlisted candidates will be invited to a live pitching event in Dubai in May 2023, following which the winners will be announced. These selected projects will then receive access to funding of up to US$50,000, along with technical guidance, support and partnership opportunities to accelerate their entrepreneurial ideas.

As the UAE gears up to host the 28th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP28) -a global conference wherein initiatives related to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are discussed- selected Expo Live participants will also receive funding, support, and exposure at COP28.

With this being the sixth cohort since the program's launch in 2013, Expo Live will also serve as a tool to expand Expo City Dubai- the sustainability and innovation-driven city built upon the Expo 2020 Dubai site. Expo Live is thus expected to cater towards Expo City Dubai's vision of using the power of collaboration and innovation to propel human progress.

Having already supported 140 innovators from 76 countries over the years, around one-third of Expo Live's endeavors have been related to sustainability issues. However, by specifically focusing on climate change and related environmental issues this year, the program also seeks to align with the UAE government's decision to brand 2023 as the "Year of Sustainability."

Yousuf Caires, Executive Director, Expo Live Innovation Program. Source: Expo Live Innovation Program

"Expo Live has already had an incredibly powerful and tangible impact on people and planet and, in the year that Expo City Dubai –a blueprint for sustainable urban development– will host the COP28 climate conference and continue its own journey towards carbon neutrality, we are pushing forward on our commitment to foster creativity and innovation to address the urgent issue of climate change," said Yousuf Caires, Executive Director, Expo Live Innovation Program.

"This new round of Expo Live exemplifies the collective responsibility and innovative spirit essential to achieving our climate goals and we welcome new environmental, sustainability and conservation solutions from around the world.," Caires added. "With a pressing need to reset our relationship with the planet, it is clear that, 10 years on, Expo Live remains as timely and relevant as ever."

Applications for the Expo Live program can be submitted here.