The Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an revealed today that it has supported 30 social start-ups through three cohorts of Ma’an Social Incubator (MSI), providing more than AED 6 million worth of support to produce effective enterprises, which address the specific social needs of Abu Dhabi. MSI works closely with relevant partners to understand the needs of both, businesses and the government.
Since its launch in May 2019, more than 800 applications have been received from across 21 different countries, spanning five continents, from entrepreneurs with innovative concepts, each aiming to address the cohort’s specific theme.
H.E. Salama Al Ameemi, Director General of Ma’an, said “We are extremely proud of the milestones achieved through our Ma’an Social Incubator. Since the announcement of its inaugural cohort, we have been overwhelmed by the response from so many creative and forward-thinking social start-ups from all over the world. Seeing how social entrepreneurs have utilised their deep understanding of the social priorities to create innovative solutions and use the MSI platform to grow their ideas into social enterprises has been magnificent to see.”
H.E. further said, “Through empowering social entrepreneurs to grow their business ideas, we will be able to enhance the third sector, growing a healthy and strong network of social enterprises and not-for-profit associations, benefitting Abu Dhabi.”
Three cohorts have been launched so far, each aimed at empowering social entrepreneurs to grow their ideas into social enterprises through offering milestone funding, mentorship, office space, business expertise and access to investors.
Cycle 04 of the MSI will launch towards the end of the year, incubating 10 more winning start-ups.
Cohort 01// Enhancing the lives for People of Determination:
- Key2Enable // www.key2enable.com // @key2enable_uae // Empowering People of Determination to use tablets, computers and smartphones with adapted hardware, software and accessories.
- Heroes of Hope // www.heroesofhopeuae.com // @heroes_of_hope_ // Social enterprise delivering equal opportunities for People of Determination including recreational activities, work opportunities and sporting events.
- I Hear You // www.ihearyou.ae // @IHEARYOO // Mobile app that enables communication from text/audio to sign language and vice versa.
- Inclusive // www.inclusive.ae // @iminclusive // Online platform that connects People of Determination to their local community, including them fully in accessible jobs, events and opportunities
- The Camp // Inclusion-safe, seasonal, remote sleepover and day camps for all. Children, including Children of Determination in the UAE
- NEXART // www.eyewey.com // @nexart.ai // Solution for people with complete visual impairment to recognize and navigate their surroundings through the power of visual recognition and simple distance judging technology
- Martha Edu // www.mathaedu.com // @marthaeduapp // Educational smart cards and mobile app to educate hearing impaired children and parents on signing language
- The Butterfly Foundation // www.thebutterflyfoundation.ae // @thebutterflyfoundation.ae Advocacy agency to bring support and empowerment in the hands of People of Determination in Abu Dhabi
- Rab3i // www.rab3i.org // @rab3i.platform // Social venture offering People of Determination an opportunity to attend recreational activities with a trained “buddy” who shares similar interests.
Cohort 02// Mental Health and Wellbeing:
- Nafas Meditation App // www.gennafas.com // @nafasmena // Nafas app provides a wider library of meditation content that allows Arabic user to reduce stress, anxiety and insomnia through instilling the practice of mindfulness
- Himma Social Initiative // @himmacommunity // Mentoring through afterschool workshops to build self esteem, raise awareness about mental wellbeing, helping them discover their competencies and develop new skills. They have also launched a new podcast called #HimmaSpeaks where young girls aged 10 – 16 discuss various emotional and mental issues.
- Guiding Stars // www.guidingstars.ae // @guidingstars // Guiding stars in an online platform and podcast supporting mothers in their mental health journey
- Hold my Umbrella // Hold My Umbrella caters for caregivers across the UAE providing detailed toolkits to help guide them through daily challenges.
- ShalaOnline // www.shalaonline.com // @shalaonline // Shala is an on-demand streaming platform of yoga and meditation classes in English and Arabic.
- Mental Health AE // www.mentalhealth.ae // @mentalhealthae // Mental Health AE raising awareness to reduce the stigma of mental health, increasing community engagement through meet ups and offering affordable health services
- Peer Minded // www.peer-minded.com // @peerminded // Online peer-to-peer support network for students in the UAE
- Bessern // www.bessern.co // @bessern.co // The smart way to train people to thrive and be at their best at work
- The Hamda & Hamad Project // www.lookmag4kids.com // @lookmag4kids // The Hamda & Hamed comic series and Look Magazine are magazines to life the taboo around mental health, empowering children and parents
Cohort 03 // Family Cohesion
- Storically // www.storically.com// @storically_// a platform that creates personalized books that aim to preserve personal histories, enrich storytelling and enhance engagement.
- Hakawaty // www.Hakawatyy.com// @Hakawatyy // online storytelling sessions that increase child confidence and enables children to be productive, mindful and productive individuals.
- Tanfees // tanfees.co // @tanfees.co // a mobile application (iOS & Android) providing family & marriage counseling at unified prices and auto matching the user with the right counselor.
- The Unplugged Initiative // www.unpluggedinitiative.com// @unpluggedinitiative // A toolkit in which devices can be stowed away in a compartment, and other compartments can be used to store family friendly activities and games, that will make time spent together much better as a whole.
- Al Nqsh // https://www.alnqsh.com // @alnqsh20// Building a referential platform and e-reader for books and reviews of Arabic children and Young adults’ literature
- Taskeen // Personality assessments, pre-marital e-counseling course and life skills coaching sessions to demystify the marital journey
- Generation Unpack // @generationunpack // A monthly set of app-based & physical dialogue card packs teaching family members different facilitation techniques in conversation to resolve disputes based on their different characteristics and diagnostic app tools.
- The Family Lounge // @the_family_lounge // Giving families the opportunity to spend fun and quality time together using carefully designed games which will also evaluate their relationship, and providing recommendations for improving the relationship and referring them to coaching if needed.
- Fitness Express // https://fitnessexpressad.com// @fitnessexpressfz // Fit family programme designed for kids and their parents, engaging children in physical activities at a younger age
- Our Home Game // @Ourhomegame – providing customized games for kids to engage with parents. Our Home Game will gather the family in one place to have fun after a busy week for both kids and parents, increasing the engagement level when they play the family aspects together.
