An organisation helping Palestinian tech talent secure remote jobs, a sustainable fish leather producer in Morocco, a provider of solar-powered medical kiosks in Chad and a Peruvian company narrowing the education gap through WhatsApp learning are just four of 16 new innovative solutions from around the world that have joined the Expo Live Innovation Programme.

The programme’s seventh cycle, which attracted more than 1,000 submissions, focused on tackling a wide range of global challenges spanning education to environment, employment to healthcare. The 16 selected projects hail from 15 countries, including 10 from Africa and two projects active in the Middle East. They were chosen from a final shortlist of 22 for their positive impact on their communities and on the planet. Each will receive funding, technical guidance, support, exposure and access to networking opportunities.

Yousuf Caires, Executive Director, Expo Live Innovation Programme, said: “We have been blown away by the quality of the projects and are thrilled to welcome these Global Innovators to the Expo City Dubai family, where we look forward to nurturing and supporting their ideas, helping them grow, develop and expand, and sharing that knowledge with the global community to create even greater impact.

“These exciting solutions are already empowering youth, women and vulnerable communities, improving lives and tackling challenges across crucial sectors such as agriculture, education, healthcare and waste management. At Expo City, collaboration and innovation to drive progress is at the core of everything we do. We look forward to working with these projects to maximise their potential to help create a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous future for all.”

Expo City Dubai provides a platform for businesses, organisations and entrepreneurs from around the world to forge meaningful partnerships, share future-focused, sustainable solutions and work together to help these ideas take root, grow and thrive. The 16 projects selected in the seventh cycle, listed below, take the total number of Expo Live-supported social entrepreneurs to 191 from 92 countries.

Expo Live was initiated under Expo 2020 Dubai and continues as part of Expo City, backing projects that improve people’s lives or preserve the planet and accelerating entrepreneurial spirit. The programme’s first five cycles positively impacted 5.8 million people worldwide, restoring 36 million hectares of land, offsetting 190,000 tonnes of CO2, and saving 6.3 million litres of water.