Investments up to a total of Dh1 billion ($272 million) will be made in projects and companies taking part in Dubai Future Accelerators, an ambitious initiative to advance research and development and entrepreneurship in key sectors in the UAE.

Launched under the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,  the initiative encourages participants to find innovative solutions for seven “future challenges” in strategic sectors.

The suggested solutions reflect each organisation’s vision and the opportunities it seeks to capitalise on, in the areas of education, health diagnosis, sustainable buildings, and mobility, and explores the enablers of the “fourth industrial revolution”, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, genomics, biomimicry, and biotechnology.

Mohammed Al Gergawi, managing director of Dubai Future Foundation, and chairman of Dubai Holding, said Future Accelerators will attract the world’s best start-ups in innovation-led sectors, provide appropriate opportunities for growth, and open new markets.

He stressed the step complements the efforts of the initiative to attract global entrepreneurship to the UAE and stimulate innovation, research and development in the areas and sectors most closely related to human life.

Dubai Future Foundation and Dubai Holding will together invest Dh1 billion over the course of five years in projects and companies capable of passing the Future Accelerators programme, and solving their respective sectors’ challenges through projects on the ground, and in partnership with institutions such as Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police and Dubai Holding.