The Global Innovation Index, GII, ranks the UAE among the top three innovative economies in the North Africa and West Asia region and 36th globally. Dubai also ranks among the 20 most innovative cities in the world.
Table of Contents
Dubai, visionary plans
The emirate, thanks to its foresight, promotes an ecosystem based on innovation and future-proof business models. The city boasts a thriving community of startup incubators and accelerators, as well as a regulatory sandbox for developing and testing new technology business models.
Dubai ranks first globally for foreign direct investment (FDI) and technology transfer in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and robotics. The emirate is also benefiting from a progressive government program aimed at creating a live experimental testbed for new technological ideas. Such as the hyperloop and unmanned aerial travel.
The Smart Dubai project to facilitate innovation
The city is creating an ecosystem that allows businesses from every sector to be able to innovate. It has clearly shown its ambition with a myriad of futuristic long-term strategies in sectors such as AI, blockchain, 3D printing and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Smart Dubai is constantly striving to transform Dubai into a smart city. And to make it the intelligent, responsive and personalized city of the future. Since operating, the Smart Dubai office has launched over 130 initiatives in partnership with government and private sector organisations.
The Dubai Blockchain Strategy, for example, is one of many initiatives covering 24 cases of Blockchain technology currently being adopted across eight key industries. Including finance, education, real estate and others.
The Dubai Future Foundation
The Dubai Future Foundation aims to support the progress of the city through a number of initiatives. The four Dubai Future Labs, which opened in 2019 to drive business and innovation in the emirate, demonstrate once again that the city prioritizes being at the global forefront of technology and science.
The Dubai Future Accelerators program extends entrepreneurs from around the world the opportunity to collaborate with Dubai’s government bodies and giants of every industry in a 9-week, rotating programme.
The Foundation also hosts the region’s first Affiliate Center for Fourth Industrial Revolution in partnership with the World Economic Forum.
He is also dedicated to developing policies to support the development of the latest generation technologies. Including Precision Medicine, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology.
Hub of 3D printing technology
The city’s dedicated 3D printing program was launched to promote Dubai as a hub of 3D printing technology. It focuses on three main sectors: construction, healthcare devices and consumer products.
Thanks to this ambitious programme, it is estimated that around 25% of the emirate’s buildings will be 3D printed by 2030.
The city also reasserts itself as a leader in the innovation agenda through forward-thinking research and the development of exponential thinking.
A push towards the future
Creative spirit and innovation characterize every sector of Dubai’s diverse economy. This allows the city to embrace new ideas and adopt technologies to support its strategic plan. Which involves creating an improved and sustainable blueprint for modern cities to adopt.
The flexible regulatory framework of Dubai allows the city to constantly look ahead. All these factors converge in the continuous creation of a business-driven environment that inspires and empowers creative and innovative minds.
Dubai is building smart, hyper-connected infrastructures to advance its innovation agenda and ensure sustained growth that is resilient to global volatility.
Thanks to the support of specific investments in key sectors for the growth and development of the Smart City, Dubai aims to be consistently counted among the five major global centers in terms of trade, logistics, tourism and finance.
Read also: Le Fonti Global Awards, the eagerly awaited international format restarts from Dubai
