A total of 46 companies from around the world, nine of which are from the UAE, will be taking part in the third edition of the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) programme.

The number of participating companies has almost doubled since the launch of DFA in September last year.

DFA, a unique Government-supported accelerator program, an initiative of the Dubai Future Foundation, received over a 1,000 applications for this cohort. The submissions cover a range of innovative ideas that seek to shape the future of key sectors, find effective solutions to the challenges facing the future of the planet, transforming them into opportunities for sustainable development, and, ultimately, creating a better life for future generations.

Emirates airline has joined the program to help identify the most pressing challenges facing the aviation sector and to develop solutions and transform these challenges into opportunities that support the sector's long-term sustainability.

Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Accelerators, said: "The program offers an ideal platform to forecast and plan for the future as it gathers the world's brightest minds and most innovative companies to join hands with government entities in the UAE and address challenges in key sectors using cutting-edge technologies. We are proud to see local companies among the participants; this underlines the great progress that the local tech scene has achieved, placing it on par with major global competitors."

The DFA program received numerous applications from the UAE and accepted nine companies into the program - making the UAE the second-largest source market of all participating companies, doubling the percentage of UAE companies from last cohort.

Meanwhile, the US came in first place with 10 companies, the UK tied with the UAE with nine participants, followed by Austria with four companies, Canada with three, two companies from New Zealand, two from Singapore and one company from China, Germany, Hungary, Lebanon, South Africa, Spain, South Korea and the Netherlands.

DFA's "Humanitarian Accelerators" program signed an agreement with Dubai Cares, and will work with 3 companies: two from the UAE and one from the US. The Humanitarian Accelerators is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Arab World connecting start-ups and established companies with the humanitarian sector to tackle social, cultural and environmental challenges in the Arab region.

The first and second editions of the Accelerators program received over 4,000 applications to solve strategic challenges in key sectors. In the first phase of the program, 19 MoUs were signed; that number increased by 27 per cent to 28 MoUs in the second cycle. – TradeArabia News Service