DP World launches programme for start-ups
Dubai, April 29, 2013
DP World has announced the launch of Turn8 seed accelerator programme designed to encourage innovative entrepreneurship worldwide, starting with Dubai.
Turn8 will look for people with ingenious ideas that can be refined and brought to market through a “seed accelerator,” a programme that selects start-up teams with marketable ideas and supports them with funding, mentoring and training in exchange for a stake in any resulting business, said a statement from the Dubai company.
The Turn8 programme will take place over the next 12 months, beginning by seeking innovative ideas through an online campaign, and events in select countries with active start-up cultures, including the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Ukraine, and the US, it stated.
The programme is powered by Innovation 360, a leading UAE innovation management consultancy, which has already established its own seed accelerator (i360accelerator), bringing several innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives to the region.
Proposed ideas can be in a variety of sectors including travel, trade, supply chain management, shipping, transport and logistics, logistics security, safety, sustainability and the environment.
Those with winning proposals will be invited to the TURN8 seed accelerator in Dubai, where they will be provided with workspace and professional mentoring for four months to develop their business model and prototype, said a statement.
Up to $24,000 funding is available per team to help them evolve their ideas from conception to commercialisation, it added.
Yousif Al Mutawa, the chief information officer, said, "We are encouraging innovative and commercially-viable ideas from global and local innovators, as well as DP World employees and partners. Our aim is to support an innovation culture in the wider community by encouraging and supporting a mix of international and local ideas."
Kamal Hassan, the founder and CEO of Innovation 360, said, "Turn8 will reduce the gap between innovative ideas and their commercialisation by providing the start-ups with crucial early stage funding, a proven framework for turning ideas into global businesses, mentorship and follow-on investment support."
"Our goal is to launch many successful innovative start-ups and create a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Middle East," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
