DUBAI - Creative solutions such as apps to help mothers in disadvantaged areas get health guidance quickly for their children and kites that generate electricity in remote locations are among the latest projects to have received Expo Live grants from organizers of the next World Expo, held in Dubai in 2020.
A total of 16 Global Innovators from 14 countries are to receive funding from Expo Live’s flagship Innovation Impact Grant Program after pitching their solutions to an evaluation committee in Dubai in August.
The recipients - from five continents - operate in an array of fields, including healthcare, education, renewable energy, fintech, waste management and sustainability, and join Expo Live’s community of other Global Innovators who have already received support from the program.
Among the latest recipients is a Nigerian doctor who co-launched a mobile app and website, OMOMI, to help save children’s lives after watching a baby unnecessarily die in an emergency room.
The OMOMI application helps expectant mothers and parents of under-five-year-olds monitor the well-being of their children from home, which can be life-saving for families living in remote areas or those who cannot afford to attend a medical facility.
Since it was launched in Benin City in 2015, more than 30,000 parents have used the platform. The grant from the Expo Live program will help it reach even more families.
Expo 2020 Dubai’s Expo Live program has an allocation of $100 million to back projects such as OMOMI that offer creative solutions to pressing challenges that impact people’s lives, or help preserve the world - or both. Organizers are looking for projects that would not reach their full potential without its support.
The program will grant up to $100,000 per initiative to be made available incrementally depending on progress and results.
Yousuf Caires, Vice President, Expo Live, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: "We see innovation not as the process of generating ideas, but as the relentless commitment to solving a problem worth solving.
"It is the Global Innovators’ character, their drive and their reasons for choosing this path - the path of a change-maker - that earns them a place in our Expo Live family and the opportunity to inspire millions at Expo 2020 Dubai.
"I would like to congratulate all the recipients and we look forward to working with them to develop their innovative solutions further.”
World Expos, which trace their origins back to the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, have always celebrated the latest in innovation and technology, from the x-ray machine to television and the Eiffel Tower.
The Expo Live program was launched in January 2017, following a pilot phase last year. It aims to stimulate innovation that has a social benefit by supporting projects with funding, business guidance and promotion. Successful applicants will also have the chance to showcase their work to many millions of visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai.
To date, the program has attracted more than 1,100 applicants from 107 countries around the world. Following a rigorous evaluation process, 16 grantees from 14 countries have joined Expo Live’s community of Global Innovators. With these new members from the second cycle, the community now comprises 45 Expo Live Global Innovators from 30 countries.
The third cycle of the program is now open and will receive creative and innovative solutions to real life challenges by Dec. 2.
Yousuf Caires added: "We want to prove that innovation can come from anywhere, to everyone. If you have a solution that improves lives, we are here to listen and we are here to welcome you to our community of innovators.”
Among the other latest grant recipients is the Afghan Institute of Learning, an initiative that is using mobile phones in the classroom to educate and empower illiterate women in Afghanistan.
The course teaches women and older girls how to read and write with the help of mobile phones rather than pen and paper, as well as education on topics such as health and hygiene, values and human rights. Expo Live’s grant will help the institute hold more literacy classes in rural and urban areas.
Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, founder and CEO of the Afghan Institute of Learning, said: "My mandate is to make sure there is no girl without education in Afghanistan. Even after 25 years, it’s still not easy to persuade people that a little investment into education goes a long way. Despite the difficulty, I remain convinced and committed to this cause, especially because now many of the students have grown to become valuable members of society.
"Through the Expo Live grant, I hope to reach more women and communities, and I want to change people’s perception about women and education.”
The full list of the latest Innovation Impact Grant Program recipients are:
• Afghan Institute of Learning (Afghanistan)
The institute is using mobile phones in the classroom to educate and empower illiterate women. The course teaches women and older girls how to read and write with the help of mobile phones rather than pen and paper, as well as education on topics such as health and hygiene, values and human rights. Expo Live’s grant will help the institute hold more literacy classes in rural and urban areas. www.afghaninstituteoflearning.org
• Atollo (Canada)
The firm produces Talking Stickers, an initiative that has taken a generations-old activity and turned it into a ‘smart’ early language development tool for children in locations where it is difficult to access education. The project currently runs in India, however Atollo will use the Expo Live grant to test and develop business and distribution models further, before expanding to other countries - including Lebanon, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Chile. www.attollose.com
• The Plastic Bank (Canada)
The Plastic Bank has established convenience stores in Haiti that accept plastic waste as currency, turning the product into what it calls Social Plastic. The plastic is then sorted, recycled and sold to companies to use in their manufacturing instead of new plastics. The Expo Live grant will help promote the concept in other parts of the world. https://plasticbank.org
• Be My Eyes (Denmark)
This start-up uses mobile technology to make the world more accessible for the blind and visually impaired. The Be My Eyes app connects a blind person with a sighted volunteer, who describes what they see through live streamed video. Through the Expo Live grant, Be My Eyes plans to increase the number of users and volunteers, and expand the complexity and diversity of features. http://bemyeyes.com
• GoRaymi (Ecuador)
GoRaymi is a digital platform that connects tourists with off-the-beaten-track experiences in Ecuador, helping less prominent, regional destinations to benefit from the country’s tourism industry. Expo Live’s grant will help GoRaymi to improve technical aspects of the platform, as well as create enticing content about the destinations to attract a larger user base. www.goraymi.com
• Paptic (Finland)
Finnish start-up Paptic Ltd impressed the Expo Live team with its innovative, wood-based alternative - PAPTIC - to plastic packaging and bags, which aims to reduce the amount of plastic waste that reaches the oceans. The funding will allow the firm to develop new applications for PAPTIC beyond its use in carrier bags, and it will also help it take the product to other markets. www.paptic.com
• CoolCrop (India)
CoolCrop has developed a prototype low-cost cold room for the storage of perishables, powered by solar energy that can be easily deployed to small-hold farmer cooperatives. It allows farmers to store produce for up to six months, depending on the item, allowing them to sell their goods at the best price and to build a more sustainable livelihood. The grant will help CoolCrop develop more cold rooms and make it available in more locations across India. https://twitter.com/coolcroptech
• Kabadiwalla Connect (India)
The mission of Kabadiwalla Connect is to divert urban India's waste away from landfill, helping to cut CO2 emissions as well as increase income opportunities for small scrap dealers (kabadiwallas). It uses technology to link key individuals that make up the informal waste ecosystem in Chennai, such as small waste pickers, small aggregators and material recovery facilities. The Expo Live grant will help fund the schemes and support more kabadiwallas. www.kabadiwallaconnect.in
• Kitenergy Srl (Italy)
The firm is using kites to capture ‘high altitude wind’ to provide low-cost power in remote areas that have limited or no access to electricity. Expo Live’s grant will allow Kitenergy to conduct field tests on a remote island in Cape Verde, giving 200 residents access to electricity and powering a desalination plant. www.kitenergy.net
• CheeksUp (Latvia)
The CheeksUp face motion game combines 3D recognition with real-time motion tracking to motivate patients to learn to use their tongue and lips correctly for speech, as well as gamification to ensure the program is enjoyable. It can be used by speech therapists, myofunctional therapists and physiotherapists. The funding will allow CheeksUp to help more children fast-track their therapy, as well as develop and implement new game elements, animations and graphics. www.cheeksup.com
• MOBicure (Nigeria)
The company’s OMOMI application helps expectant mothers and parents of under-five-year-olds monitor the well-being of their children from home, which can be life-saving for families living in remote areas or who cannot afford to attend a medical facility. Since it was launched in Benin City in 2015, more than 30,000 parents have used the platform. The funding from Expo Live will help it reach even more families. http://mobicure.biz
• Liter of Light (Philippines)
My Shelter Foundation Inc has developed the ‘Liter of Light’ - an efficient and cost-effective solar lamp that uses immediately available materials, including plastic bottles and inexpensive, basic electrical components, to produce a reliable source of light. Expo Live’s support means that 20 permanent training centers can be built in the Philippines to boost production of the lamps. www.LiterofLight.org
• CaribePay (St Kitts and Nevis)
This fintech start-up provides a 100 percent cashless payment service that allows transactions anywhere, anytime, without electrical power or internet access. It utilities cashcards, payment terminals and apps and is designed so that neither the seller nor the buyer needs a bank account. Funding from Expo Live will allow CaribePay to expand into other Caribbean countries, and later into Africa, the Middle East and Asia. www.caribepay.com
• NOW Money (UAE)
NOW Money provides a mobile app for low income workers who struggle to access banking services. The app allows them to manage their finances as well as send remittances home with the touch of a button. Thanks to a grant from Expo Live, NOW Money will be able to expand its scheme to help low-income workers in other Gulf countries. www.nowmoney.me
• Ideabatic (UK)
The firm has developed a low-cost, battery-powered carrier that provides constant, cool storage for vaccines to prevent them from being damaged due to heat exposure in transit. Expo Live’s grant will help Ideabatic to fine tune prototypes and test them in the field. www.ideabatic.com
• KinTrans Inc (U.S.)
KinTrans Inc is using technology to translate sign language accents between deaf and hearing people in real-time to help them better communicate. The funding will allow KinTrans to regionalize American sign language in the U.S. and the UAE, and Arabic sign language in the UAE by collecting user data. www.kintrans.com
Those interested in applying for funding for a project that generates social or environmental value and is in line with Expo 2020 Dubai’s subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability can find out more about Expo Live and apply at www.expo2020dubai.ae/expo-live. - Reuters
