Ministry of Economy honors SkillUp Compete winners under Entrepreneurial Nation

The Ministry of Economy honored the winners of SkillUp Compete, which was launched in November 2021 in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Colleges of Technology, and in collaboration with the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab. Several universities in the country participated in the competition, which forms part of the SkillUp Academy initiatives, and in turn represent one of the main axes of The Entrepreneurial Nation.

The ceremony took place at the Ministry headquarters in the presence of H.E. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, during which, four innovative projects were recognized out of 78 entries, submitted by more than 400 students from 35 universities in the UAE.

H.E. Bin Touq said that the end of the competition marks a new milestone in the empowerment of entrepreneurs in the country and in attracting some of the brightest minds from among undergraduates and recent graduates to entrepreneurship. It also provides them with necessary support and incentives that contribute to the success and sustainability of these projects in line with the objectives of the Project of the 50, aimed at building a flexible and sustainable economic model based on innovation and led by national competencies.

The minister emphasized that the UAE attaches great significance to the development of the entrepreneurship sector; the development of legislation and laws regulating its functioning and supporting incentives; and the empowerment of entrepreneurs in various strategic sectors. The Ministry of Economy is working to achieve these goals through the ‘Entrepreneurial Nation’, in collaboration with relevant federal and local government entities, and through a series of partnerships with the private sector and academic and research institutions inside and outside the country.

H.E. Bin Touq added that the national efforts to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in younger generations are continuing, in addition to efforts to refine their expertise and skills, provide them with the necessary tools, and ensure sustainable solutions, learning opportunities and development. Simultaneously, efforts are also being undertaken to enhance the attractiveness of the national business environment and establish a flexible and integrated legislative system that supports entrepreneurship. These efforts are aimed at raising a generation of qualified entrepreneurs who are capable of establishing and leading successful and influential companies locally, regionally, and globally. This will enhance the UAE's leadership in embracing innovative ideas and creating the right environment for their success, which will enhance the attractiveness of the nation's overall economic climate, ensuring the sustainability of its global competitiveness.

SkillUp Compete focused on creating exemplary entrepreneurs, developing a culture of entrepreneurship in the country, and motivating younger generations to embrace entrepreneurial ideas. The competition was designed with these objectives in mind to attract the best and most creative students of higher education institutions to join the country’s business ecosystem and contribute to national economic growth.

The four winning project ideas of the competition are in alignment with the UAE's vision for the future, in terms of their focus on innovation, knowledge, and advanced technology applications. The winning projects are:

1. CellTiró: A biotechnology startup project from NYU Abu Dhabi that helps life science institutions manage their inventory of living cells efficiently. It offers an innovative solution that reduces storage space requirements by five times and facilitates cell distribution and use.
2. MM5: Another project from NYU Abu Dhabi based on the development of a one of a kind mechanism to remove microplastics scattered on the world's coasts using a drone. The idea will contribute to safeguarding human health, preserving the marine ecosystem and promoting tourism and its revenues.

3. Decenode: A project by a digital technology company from Heriot-Watt University, Dubai, which provides a platform for users to rent computing power (specifically GPUs and CPUs) of their computers to other renters across the platform using a decentralized network.

4. HCMS: An innovative company that provides a system for analyzing the demand and supply of skills within government and educational institutions to help empower talent with the right skill sets via the use of data science and artificial intelligence.

In addition to individual cash prizes of AED 50,000, the winners of the competition were offered assistance in growing their businesses in the form of an integrated training program by a group of experts, in cooperation with partner entities. In addition, they will also be provided with assistance in establishing and registering these businesses, acquiring office spaces, and enrolling themselves in specialized national accelerators programs, in addition to obtaining support and guidance from specialists, and benefiting from access to experts and investors at a global level.

Ayoub Guelleh, CEO of the CellTiró Project, explained that SkillUp Compete is one of the most effective initiatives that provide continuous support to startups, and that it contributed to facilitating his team’s communication with federal and local departments and authorities. This enabled them to learn more about the steps to register the company and understand the laws related to intellectual property protection in the country.

Dr. Abdullah Al Shammari, CEO of the HCMS Project, said: “The experience that we gained from this competition is more than wonderful and was quite challenging, especially since the competition witnessed the participation of highly distinguished contestants in the fields of advanced technology. In addition, the judging panel brought together experts in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation, making the competition atmosphere highly competitive. It truly reflected the country’s commitment to following the wise leadership’s directives to drive development by focusing on human capabilities.”

Hinabi Kim, CEO and founder of the 5MM project, confirmed that he was able to hone his skills and benefit from the various experiences offered by the competition. He explained that the program is a wonderful opportunity for entrepreneurs, as it provides useful channels of communication with the Ministry of Economy and the competition's supporting partners.

Aishwarya Khalani, CEO and Founder of DECENODE, said: “My favorite part of the competition was the invaluable knowledge and experiences we gained during the training workshops, which helped us lay the right foundations for our startups. This competition served as a key opportunity to determine the right path for budding entrepreneurs.”

The Ministry of Economy launched The Entrepreneurial Nation in November 2021 as part of its vision for the next 50 years. Through this project, MoE strives to enhance the contribution of the entrepreneurship sector and position it as a major pillar of economic growth, and an important axis for consolidating the UAE’s status as a primary global destination for entrepreneurship, talent and creativity. It is designed to promote a culture of entrepreneurship in the country, provide solutions and learning opportunities and support SMEs to grow into large companies and unicorns in the future. The project includes three main programs - the SkillUp Academy, the StartUp Program, and the ScaleUp Platform for rapidly growing companies. Several initiatives have already been launched under each of the three programs.