The UAE's Ministry of Economy has revealed the signing of a series of new strategic Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with 14 government entities as part of the launching of the National Program for Supporting Young Innovative Companies. The signings were held on the sidelines of the Ministry's participation in the Government Accelerators; a new government approach designed to accelerate the achievement of the National Agenda of UAE Vision 2021. The government entities that have signed new partnerships with the Ministry of Economy include the Ministry of Finance, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), the Securities & Commodities Authority, Takamul Program, Emirates Development Bank, Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Dubai SME, Sharjah Entrepreneur Center (Sheraa), RAK SME, Umm Al Quwain Chamber, Khalifa University, United Arab Emirates University and the University of Dubai. 

The National Program for Supporting Young Innovative Companies is one of the key initiatives adopted within the framework of the Government Accelerators platform, which the Ministry of Economy is striving to achieve within the stipulated 100 days, and the platform aims to boost the innovation and business climate in the UAE and raise the country’s rank in the Global Innovation Index. 

According to the Ministry of Economy, the newly signed memorandums will help usher the National Program for Supporting Young Innovative Companies to the next level by establishing a more unified framework and standards based on national innovation guidelines and indicators. The MoUs also deal with the official launch of the next phase of the program and the issue of 50 membership certificates, which seeks to enable the projects to benefit from the incentives provided by the program partners.

H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, shared that The National Programme for Supporting Young Innovative Companies represents a crucial national initiative to facilitate the growth of innovation in the private sector. The support of innovation-based startups in this program contributes significantly to the achievement of the objectives laid down in UAE Vision 2021, particularly the building of a competitive knowledge and innovation-based economy.

H.E Al Mansoori said the MoUs also emphasize the Ministry of Economy’s keenness to support start-ups in the country with the necessary hand holding, funds and incentives needed to ensure their continued success and efforts to turn their ideas into reality, and in turn, contribute to economic development. 

H.E Eng. Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Economy, pointed out that the MoUs cover all legal, financial and technical aspects of the support framework for start-up companies—allowing them the ability to transform new and innovative ideas to economically viable alternatives.

Lastly, H.E. Abdullah Sultan Alfan Alshamsi, Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy and Head of the Executive Team of the Global Innovation Index, explained that the program’s team made significant progress during the implementation phases of the initiative’s launch timeline.