The second edition of the Innovation 4 Impact Competition will take centre-stage at the Global Islamic Economy Summit 2016 (GIES 2016) to be held under the theme ‘Inspiring Change’, at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, from October 11-12. Islamic digital economy entrepreneurs from around the world will compete for a chance to win cash, gain global publicity, and attractive in-kind prizes.

The competition is designed to support emerging Islamic digital economy entrepreneurs from around the world by showcasing their businesses, as well as connecting them with investors and clients, gaining access to expert mentoring, and competing to win cash prizes and in-kind benefits. During GIES 2016, the emerging entrepreneurs from the Islamic economy space will engage in pitch sessions with leading entrepreneurs and investors from UAE and from across the region.

The winner of the competition will also receive free office space for one year at the Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Centre, DSOA’s wholly owned technology incubation center and the largest of its kind in the region.

Besides the big prize, the competition provides value-added services for the selected entrepreneur including exclusive mentoring, access to leading investors in the region, as well as support to fine-tune their ideas. Innovation 4 Impact effectively nurtures start-ups and enables them to contribute to the further development of Islamic digital economy.

Innovation 4 Impact Qualifications

The competition is open to any startup, business venture, and digital entrepreneurs of all faiths. Only business ventures which have an economic and social impact on the Islamic digital economy will be considered. The businesses should belong to one of the following sectors:
 

1. E-commerce

2. Mobile computing

3. Cloud computing

4. Big data

5. Hyper-converged platforms

6. New media and social media

Application submissions will close on August 31, 2016 and selected applicants will be notified by the second week of September 2016. Selected applicants will also receive coaching and feedback from investors and experts in the entrepreneurial community throughout the process. They will pitch their businesses to a renowned panel of judges and a professional audience on the first day GIES on October 11 and the winner will be announced on the closing day of the Summit on October 12.

For further information on the Innovation 4 Impact Competition and details on participation, please visit http://www.innovation4impact.com/.