This year’ edition of ‘The Outliers’ – Hub71’s annual program designed for tech startups – is to feature seven challenges from five leading organisations, including Aldar, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT), and Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) and Thales.
The tech challenge programme will facilitate startups to collaborate with major corporations and government departments across Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy, offering founders the ability to respond with technology-led approaches that address their challenges.
Startups will have the opportunity to customise their product to support the organisation’s business objectives, develop commercial deals, and gain up to AED 100,000 in value to fund the development of their POC (proof of concept), Hub71 said in a statement.
For the first time, a dedicated category has been created for unicorns to take part in ‘The Outliers’ program, with Cars24, an e-commerce platform for used vehicles valued at $1.84 billion, joining the edition.
Through its participation, Cars24 will be supporting Hub71’s innovation ecosystem and helping startups succeed.
‘The Outliers’ programme also enables companies and government entities to accelerate their corporate innovation efforts by capitalising on cutting-edge technologies and impactful digital solutions.
This year’s challenges seek to harness next-generation technologies including Web3 to help these organisations gain a competitive advantage and future-proof their operations.
DCT is seeking to understand tourist behaviors while shopping or visiting attractions in Abu Dhabi as well as uncovering the future of tourism in the emirate, while DoH will be looking to use digital solutions to improve the patient journey and optimise resources.
Addressing the cities of the future, Thales’ goal is to develop integrated solutions to manage drone activity.
Aldar will be looking to promote the reduction and reuse of resources throughout the lifecycle of a real estate project, while Cars24 will be exploring unique payment solutions and the integration of digital platforms to redefine how consumers purchase cars.
Elodie Robin-Guillerm, head of growth and strategy at Hub71, said: “Beyond fundraising, startups also need to be able to secure commercially viable contracts and partnerships with the business community and government that are increasingly embracing entrepreneurial minds.”
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