Masdar links with BP for clean energy businesses in UAE

Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and the oil giant BP are looking to spur new clean energy businesses in the UAE by providing a tool for early investment.

The Technology Innovation Accelerator is to combine local technology-focused stakeholders for people looking to start businesses focused on emerging energy, water and other sustainable initiatives.

“As an institution based on sustainable research, we focus on engaging the right stakeholders for the benefit of the wider regional and global community,” said the Masdar Institute president Fred Moavenzadeh.

BP and Masdar Institute will advise new companies on various aspects including helping with business plans that would attract funding. BP Ventures, a segment of the oil company, will connect local start-ups with key investors. “This concept is specially tailored to suit the requirements of the youth in the UAE and the region,” said Abdul Karim Al Mazmi, BP’s general manager and chief representative in Abu Dhabi.

The accelerator programmes were created by setting targets against other similar tools. The collaboration hopes to expand the programme even further. The Masdar Institute head of innovation, Bruce Ferguson, said that additional platforms were being proposed in the coming months. “This will bring overall benefits to the community, especially the innovation ecosystem,” he said.

The programme is broadly similar to the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development. The new programme, to launch this year, was created to encourage younger Emiratis to get involved in the burgeoning technology sector. Entrepreneurs will receive support to help create, for instance, software programs or applications for Androids and iOS systems.

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