The Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an has concluded its fifth cycle of its Ma’an Social Incubator (MSI), which aims to elevate the impact of social enterprises by supporting them to scale up and grow their operations in Abu Dhabi, with a Graduation and a ‘Demo Day’ where entrepreneurs showcased landmark innovations that can help improve the quality of life for senior citizens across the emirate.
The fifth cycle of the programme was focused on “Senior Citizens and Residents”, an identified social priority within Abu Dhabi, to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of older people to society with applicants invited to develop creative services or products that will enhance their quality of life across the Emirate.
The solutions selected for the programme aim to support seniors play a more active role in society by taking part in different activities and building relationships with different members of the wider community.
Nine established ventures were incubated in the fifth cycle of the programme were showcased in the presence of His Excellency Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Chairman of the Department of Community Development in Abu Dhab and Her Excellency Salama Al Ameemi, the Director General of the Authority for Social Contribution (Ma’an) at a graduation ceremony at The Exchange; a social innovation space by the Authority of Social Contribution Ma’an to find inspiration and meet like-minded people who are passionate about helping others in Abu Dhabi.
Innovators showcased their ventures with a seven-minute presentation and startup pitch to introduce their business to external entities and investors.
The Social Incubator supports Abu Dhabi’s vision to drive innovation in the social sector by fostering creative and sustainable solutions to address existing social challenges. By supporting and investing in social enterprises, the programme also creates job and volunteering opportunities, which aim to drive social inclusion while contributing to the expansion of Abu Dhabi’s social services ecosystem.
Under the programme, the teams had to meet the selected criteria and were shortlisted by Ma’an before undergoing a 90-day training programme to build these creative solutions into sustainable business ventures.
Ma’an will support the successful teams with access to mentorship, office space, business expertise, funding and networking.
The Ma’an Social Incubator sixth cohort is now open and receiving applications from social entrepreneurs that are developing sustainable solutions in Financial Literacy, Ed-Tech, and cutting-edge Social-Tech under the theme of “Entrepreneurship for Social Good”.
Those interested can apply by visiting https://maan.gov.ae/our-pillars/ideation-acceleration/incubator/
