EXPO LIVEFULFILLING THE MISSION
2016-2021
INNOVATION CAN COME FROMANYWHERE, TO EVERYONEACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank everyone, who was involved in the creation and execution of Expo Live Programme,
including Expo 2020 Dubai Leadership, Expo Live team, our colleagues, Expo 2020 Dubai partners and thewide network of Expo Live friends and supporters.

SETTING THE STAGE

THE EXPO LIVEPROGRAMMERESULTS AND IMPACTAUTHOR
This report was written by iGravity, a Swiss-based
consulting and investment advisory firm specialised
in impact investing and committed to building a more
equitable and sustainable financial system.

THE NEXT STEPS

Foreword: The Vision

4

Beginnings: From World Expo to changing the world

5

Journey: The power of a promise

8

Challenges: The only constant is change

10Beliefs: Creating the winning combination

11

Approach: Inspire, support and connect

18

Key figures29

Supporting novel solutions

36

Connecting minds

38

Inspiring agents of change

47

Reflections in hindsight54

Scaling our impact: Our journey continues

55

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
3

2. T
 HE
CONVENING
POWER OF A
WORLD EXPO

1. FOREWORD: THE VISION
Expo 2020 Dubai’s theme ‘Connecting Minds,
Creating the Future’ is based on the belief that
innovation and progress are the result of people andideas, coming together in new and unique ways.
When presenting to the 166 member nations of the
Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris in
2013, the Expo Dubai leadership committed to thecreation of a USD 100 million Expo Partnership Fundto accelerate entrepreneurial spirit around the worldand support projects delivering lasting and positive
impact. Widespread access to finance remains limited
for innovators, especially those working outside
established start-up ecosystems, and younger
organisations in small and emerging economies.
We wanted to empower all problem-solvers – thosefrom the region and around the world, regardless of
their background, resources, or social status.
We launched Expo Live in May 2016 for this reason.
Every social innovator – no matter where they
are in their journey – deserves access to funding,business guidance and support, to realise their fullpotential. Expo Live symbolises a global gathering of
nations dedicated to finding solutions to the pressing
challenges of our time. It also symbolises a mandate– a pledge that the United Arab Emirates has madeto the world – to inspire future generations, create
positive impact and build a more prosperous future
for everyone.

A World Expo is a celebration for all, a global
destination where everyone can learn, innovate,
create progress and have fun by sharing ideas andworking together. Each Expo revolves around atheme to leave a lasting impact on the path of humanprogress, making every Expo a once-in-a-lifetime
experience. Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expoever hosted in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
(MEASA) region.
Expo 2020 Dubai has three sub-themes, on which
Expo Live builds on:

This inaugural Expo Live Impact Report is a testimony
to the exciting journey with our partners and friends
that began in 2016. With 192 countries participating,Expo 2020 Dubai presents a powerhouse of
inspiration. In all, 140 global innovators were
supported and more than 11,000 applicants from184 countries who are at the ideation, prototype, or
product stage are also acknowledged here.

 pportunity - unlocking the potential of individuals• O
and communities to shape a better future

It is a matter of great pride for the UAE and I, thatthrough the years over 5.8 million beneficiaries
have now been empowered. We have created aliving example of what can be achieved when talent,ambition and passion are pooled together.

Today, the world’s most pressing challenges arebeing tackled by innovators across the globe. The
pace of progress is astonishing. The innovations oftoday would have been deemed impossible just five
years ago. Dubai and the UAE have long been

• M obility - creating smarter and more productive
movement of people, goods and ideas• S ustainability - respecting and living in balancewith our planet

leaders ininnovation andthe promotion ofa knowledge economy.
It is only natural that
innovation plays an
integral role in shaping
Expo 2020 Dubai.
Expo 2020 Dubai strongly believes
that innovation and progress blossom
when people and ideas combine in newand creative ways. The event’s overarchingtheme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’recognises that the creation of sustainable solutions
to global problems requires a willingness to reachout across geographic and institutional boundaries,
industry clusters, cultures and disciplines. Expo
2020 Dubai brings together hundreds of countries,
innovators, international organisations, companies,
entrepreneurs, NGOs, universities, and millions ofpeople to celebrate human ingenuity. The first megaevent of its kind in the region, Expo 2020 Dubai
provides a unique global platform for presenting
novel and innovative solutions with the potential totransform the lives of people around the world.

We are in a global transition away from a mindset ofcompetition and towards collaboration, inspirationand growth. We hope to inspire many others to join
this journey and perhaps even lead the way forward
in future. The true legacy of Expo 2020 Dubai will bemeasured by the connections it creates, the people itinspires, and the future it builds.
HER EXCELLENCY REEM AL HASHIMYUAE Minister of State for International Cooperation
Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai

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5

3. BEGINNINGS: FROM WORLDEXPO TO CHANGING THE WORLD
Platform for
Innovation

200+ pavilions

192 countries

25 million visits

Intentional programme to foster social innovationand entrepreneurship by supporting novel solutions,connecting minds, and inspiring change makers

University Innovation
Programme:• 19 university partners• 46 projects supported• 130 volunteer professors• 3 companies founded

Innovation Impact Grant
Programme:• 11,000+ applications
from 184 countries• 140 selected Global
innovators from76 countries

Expo Live is an innovation and partnershipprogramme launched by Expo 2020 Dubai to fund,accelerate and promote creative solutions that
improve lives while preserving our planet. Expo Liveharnesses the convening power of a World Expo todemonstrate how global innovation and committed
people can advance the pace of progress and inspirea more inclusive and prosperous future.

The Good Place
Pavilion• A multi-sensory interactive
experience to explore theinnovators and their impact
on the community•	The University Innovation Programme (UIP)– which incentivises creative thinking andcollaboration between university students to solve
problems relevant to the UAE and the region•	The Good Place Expo Live Pavilion – which is
Expo Live’s home and showcases innovators andoutstanding projects that we have championed

Expo Live moves these themes into action througha combination of grant programmes, innovation
challenges and knowledge-sharing events. It
promotes collaboration and provides technicalassistance and exposure to Global Innovators (GIs).
Expo Live consists of:•	The Innovation Impact Grant Programme (IIGP)– which provides funding, business support, andexposure to innovative solutions that benefit
communities or the environment“It’s more than just a display of solutions, it’s abouta movement. A prototype can inspire. A good story
inspires. Reliability inspires. Working together inspires.
That is the spirit we are trying to embody.”

YOUSUF CAIRES
Senior Vice President
Expo LiveEXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
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4. JOURNEY: THE POWER
OF A PROMISE
June 2013

November 2013

May 2016

May 2016

March 2017

September 2017

Commitment by Expo 2020
leadership in a presentation to
the Bureau International desExpositions (BIE) in Paris tocreating a concrete programme
for partnership and innovation

Award of Expo 2020
to Dubai - the first
World Expo to be held in
the MEASA region

Official start and public roll-out
of Expo Live programme withlaunch of the 1st cycle of call for
proposals for Expo Live Innovation
Impact Grant Programme (IIGP)

Official start and publicroll-out of Expo Liveprogramme with launch of the
1st cycle of call for proposals for
Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant
Programme (IIGP)

Selection of the firstcohort of IIGP consisting of
29 companies, including five
Middle Eastern start-ups– Total of 576 applications
from 70 countries

Launch of University Innovation
Programme (UIP) calling on
student teams at UAE-based
universities to produce originalideas or prototypes that help
solve real-world problems

August 2020

February 2020

November 2019

October 2018

September 2018

May 2018

Selection of the fifth cohort of
IIGP, consisting of 23 companies
from 23 countries – Total of4045 applications from 170
countries building on successesof earlier rounds

Announcement of the designof Expo Live The Good Place
Pavilion, designed by Emirati
designer and the founderof Archidentity, Ahmad
Abdulrahman BukhashSecond Global Innovators
Summit titled ‘Passion meetscapability’ bringing together theawarded GIs with Expo 2020s
partners and experts

Collaboration Agreement withBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
signed to support grassroots
innovators in challenging
environments

Inaugural Global Innovators
Summit titled ‘Quest for
Purpose’ and attended by
Global Innovators from nearly
40 countries

Publication of first Progress
Report ‘Expo Live - From
Promise to Purpose
2016 -2018’

May 2021

October 2021

Beyond 2022

Publication of second Progress
Report ‘Expo Live - Passion Meets
Capability 2019-20’

Opening of Expo 2020 andExpo Live Pavilion

Physical site will transform into
District 2020, a model global
community for the future andhome to world-class innovation,
educational, cultural, andentertainment facilities

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 20229

5. CHALLENGES: THE ONLYCONSTANT IS CHANGE
HUMANITY IS AT A MAJOR TURNING POINT. WE FACEUNPRECEDENTED DIFFICULTIES AND CHALLENGES, AND
WE NEED NEW WAYS OF ADDRESSING THESE COMPLEX ISSUES.

“Deserts are spreading at something like 12 million
hectares every year. If you break that down, that’s
2,000 football fields an hour. The basic prognosis isthat within the next 20 years or so, 135 million people
will have to find somewhere else to live if we cannot
stop this.”

OLE KRISTIAN SIVERTSEN
CEO, Desert Control

Most of these challenges disproportionately affectalready vulnerable communities. For example, nine of
the ten countries most affected by extreme weather
events between 1997 and 2016 were developing
countries. Agriculture remains the sole source of
employment, livelihood, and income for 50-90% of
the populations in developing countries. Climateassociated disasters triggered food crises in 23
countries and were responsible for pushing morethan 39 million people into acute food insecurity.
While some challenges require urgent planetary
responses, there are also a number of local issues –such as basic public access to sanitation, healthcare
and education – that have not been adequately
addressed.

Governments and international organisations
are struggling to provide timely and effective
interventions that ensure long-term, sustainable
impact. The USD 170 billion annual spending in ODA(Official Development Assistance) together withprivate philanthropy is unlikely to bridge this gap.

In some regions, including the UAE, social innovationis still a nascent concept. Extensive efforts are
required to bridge the perceived divide between
entrepreneurship and not-for-profit, and to createa robust ecosystem where social innovation canflourish.

However, novel solutions and new models ofcooperation that break down geographical borders
and traditional boundaries are emerging. These new
ways of working transcend traditional distinctions
between enterprises meant only for commercial gain
versus non-profit entities. These social innovatorspresent viable and sustainable solutions to thechallenges they and their communities face.

1

Source: https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/global-issues-connected-matters/
Bloomberg, Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA), the GIIN and OECD

2

Innovation does not happen in a vacuum and soinnovation ecosystems must be nurtured in every
corner of the world. Access to finance remains the
key challenge for enterprises seeking to start orscale their social innovations. On the one hand, mostdonor grants prefer funding traditional NGOs andnon-profits, and on the other hand, venture capital
continues to favour existing and well-establishedinnovation ecosystems – with only 0.8% percent of
global financial assets under management enabling
impact investments .

Desertification, Photo by Ivars Krutainis on Unsplash

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6. BELIEFS: CREATING THE
WINNING COMBINATION
Innovative ideas that address social problems are
generated every day and everywhere. For social
innovation to occur at scale, more than a single
idea is needed. It requires the right mix of people,
with access to the right support, intervening at theright time. Social innovation is about generating
unconventional ideas that trigger change – a natural
response to malfunctioning economic, social, andenvironmental systems.

Expo Live has enabled social innovation through fourmodels. Enterprises that innovate around a product,a service, a process or one that enables socialtransformation.

A social enterprise seeks to create an economically
self-sustaining solution. What distinguishes it fromany other enterprise, is the commitment to meet thereal and pressing issues of people and the planet.
This is evidenced, for example, by their articles ofassociation, an explicit purpose statement or the
sharing of excess profits within the community.
Social enterprises bring social innovation to scale
through semi-commercially viable solutions.
With guidance, the enterprises may grow to
be independent of grants and attract debt orequity financing from private investors – a criticalcomponent to narrow the huge funding gap to meet
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Socialenterprises

Non-profits“We encourage, support and fund innovators,
regardless of who you are, where you come from,regardless of your age, your nationality, yourpersonality.”

FATMA IBRAHIM“When I was looking at the problem of farmer
poverty, I saw a clear, viable business solutionthat would help solve the problem from a market
standpoint. There was an opportunity to create anorganic food business that answers the needs ofboth the farmers and the consumers.”

Grant Manager, Expo LivePEETACHAI DEJKRAISAK
Jasberry co-founder

Product innovation

Service innovation

Process innovation

Social transformation

Compost Baladi is a

Endurance Electric

Babyl is the largest digital

Meet My Mama is a French

Lebanese social enterpriseis a for-profit social

health service provider

social enterprise that has

specialised in biowastecompany in Chile thatin Rwanda. Babyl works

found a unique way to tap

management. Compost

alleviates energy poverty

through telephones andinto the skills of migrants

Baladi’s products resort

for families who havethe internet to provide

and refugees by offering

to low tech, low cost andaccess to limited or bad

medical advice andthem training and businesslocally manufactured

quality energy. Endurance

services across Rwanda toopportunities. Meet My

waste management

Electric transforms lives

address the lack of access

Mama provides a platform

solutions; aligning withby implementing a pay-for people living in remote,where companies cana sustainable circular

as-you-go system forvulnerable communities.

order food for their events.

economy approach.

access to different energy
services.

• Dual mission (impact and profit)• (Sometimes) partial
cost recovery fromoperations• Create value forsociety and theenvironment• Depend on
philanthropic funds
and donations• Focus on beneficiaries
and funders• Aid, development
and SDG oriented• Maximise social andenvironmental
profits“In low-income countries, more than half of people
do not have regular access to the Internet. I cameacross the idea of using feature phones (low-end
mobile phones limited in capabilities compared
to today’s smartphones) to deliver an education
technology experience.”

Mainstream
privateenterprises• Create value forcustomers• Full recovery of
costs and capital• Financial selfsustainability• Maximises
financial profit• Market oriented• Shareholder
oriented“I just loved the idea of being able to pay it forward
and help someone who isn’t close or nearby, who you
probably will never meet. But you have a chance tobe important in their life for a brief moment.”

CHRISTIAN ERFURT

Co-founder Be My Eyes

MIKE DAWSONFounder Ustad Mobile
EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 202213

“aQysta started with the idea of solving the problem
my parents were facing in Nepal – not being able
to irrigate their farm, even though it was right next
to a river. We developed a water pump propelled bywater that does not require any fuel or electricity tooperate. As we implemented, we realised smallholder
farmers face many other challenges and so welaunched the Grown Farm Incubator to help themgrow their farms sustainably and thrive.”

PRATAP THAPA

Co-Founder, aQysta

The Expo Live Global Innovators are both social
innovators and social enterprises. Size, legal form
and geography do not really matter. Change agentscome from everywhere, including individuals working
at the grassroots level, frontline workers, ministries,
NGOs, for-profit companies, charities, or faith-basedorganisations.

Desert Control

Desert Control is a climate technology company
specialised in reclaiming degraded soil and turning
desert sand into fertile soil. It has a patented product,
Liquid Natural Clay (LNC), which can turn degradedsand into fertile soil in less than seven hours.

Location

Theme

SectorNORWAYSUSTAINABILITYENVIRONMENT

Market oriented
business model

Credible social
commitment

Raising capital via
financial markets

Desert Control’s product offers a strong value proposition for customers with short payback times.
Their LNC product reduces water consumption up to 50 per cent and increases crop yields up to 62%.
Changing desert to green land also reduces carbon dioxide emissions by between 15-25 tonnes per
hectare annually. The company targets three types of customers: (1) green landscaping firms, who can
reduce water consumption and use of fertilisers, (2) agricultural industries, both food production andforestry, who can improve yield and reduce the risk of deforestation (3) NGOs and multi-stakeholder
initiatives that promote impact programmes.
The company’s vision is to make the earth green again, by stopping and reversing desertification andsoil degradation. It aims to turn degraded land and sand to fertile soil, and at the same time reduce thewater usage for green ecosystems by up to 50%.

In April 2021, Desert Control successfully raised approximately USD 23 million in its initial public
offering (IPO) on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The private placement attracted significant interest fromdomestic, Nordic and international investors, focusing on ESG, sustainability, and green innovation.
The capital raised will finance the company’s growth plan and commercial rollout in the UAE and thewestern United States.

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
15

At Expo Live, social innovators are never alone. To implement their ideas, social innovators needto have great co-founders, fellow employees, teams, advisors, and shareholders. Board members canhelp them keep their heads high in difficult moments and guide their ambitions. The leaders and teams
behind the innovation have many things in common.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE TEAMS

Deep understanding of
the issue and of local
context – bottom-up

Be My Eyes connects blind and low-vision people
with sighted volunteers or workplace representatives
for visual assistance through a live video call, thereby
improving their independence and self-reliance.

Location

Theme

Sector

DENMARKMOBILITY

ICTMarket oriented
business model

Be My Eyes is a mobile app that connects blind and low-vision individuals with sighted volunteers andcompanies from all over the world through a live video call. The Be My Eyes business model relies onpartnerships and contracts with companies. Through an app the service can be integrated into existing
communication channels of a company to accommodate the needs of the company’s low-visionemployees, clients, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

Credible social
commitment

The Be My Eyes story starts in Denmark in 2012 with Hans Jørgen Wiberg, a Danish furniture craftsman,
who is visually impaired himself. Through his work at The Danish Association of the Blind, he recognisedthat blind or low-vision people often needed a little assistance to solve everyday tasks. However, it
wasn’t until a blind friend told him that he used video calls to connect with family and friends, who
could help him with these tasks, that Hans Jørgen got the idea for Be My Eyes. He believed that thetechnology of video calls could be used to visually assist blind or low-vision individuals, without themhaving to rely on friends and family, but by relying on a network of volunteers.

Raising capital via
financial markets

Be My Eyes has become a global phenomenon. It attracted 10,000 volunteers within its first 24
hours of operation, and within eight weeks, it had users in 100 countries. During the past six years,
4.5 million volunteers and 290,000 blind and visually impaired have joined the community. It is now
the most prominent online platform for the blind and visually impaired, and one of the largest microvolunteering platforms in the world, aiding in 180 languages.

Business acumen, they
see the opportunity andnot only the problem

High social motivation,committed to changing
the status quo“Failure is part of the journey. It is hard, it is tough,it is not easy to accept. It is difficult to talk about
with others, but it is an experience. And if I didn’t gothrough that experience, I wouldn’t be the same manthat I am now.”

Combination of tenacity, resilience,courage, and drive to pursue
success in the face of adversity

Collaborative spirit, not incompetition given the magnitudeof the problems to solve

Able to bootstrap to get started,as there is a lack of support andinvestment at the early stages“I needed to focus on helping find a solution to
reduce waste – to make my life worthwhile I needed
to make a difference that matters.”

GEORGINA DE KOCK

Founder Munch Bowls

BASEM ALBELADIFounder of Labayh
EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022

17

7. APPROACH: INSPIRE, SUPPORTAND CONNECT
Innovative ideas that address social problems are generated every day and everywhere. For social innovation
to occur at scale, more than a single idea is needed. It requires the right mix of people, with access to the rightsupport, intervening at the right time. Social innovation is about generating unconventional ideas that trigger
change – a natural response to malfunctioning economic, social, and environmental systems.

“With everything we do, we try to promote
innovation, inclusion, and impact entrepreneurship that I would say sums up our values. Creating a senseof community with our Global Innovators is essential
to the success of our programme.”

ABDULLA KHOORY

Senior Manager, Expo Live

THEORY OF CHANGE

Inspiring agentsof change

IMPACT

Expo Live provides finance andtechnical assistance to selectedsocial and innovative entrepreneurs
and enterprises (Global Innovators)

Global Innovators improvetheir IMM systems andtheir financial and impact
performance as a result ofExpo Live’s support

Supported, connected and inspired
Global Innovators deliver tangible
impact for anyone, anywhere

Expo Live provides a platform
for showcasing the innovationand impact of Global Innovators

OUTPUT

Connected minds encourageand catalyse innovation fromanyone, anywhere

INPUT

Connecting
minds
OUTCOMEOUTPUT

Supporting novel
solutions

OUTCOME

The showcased Global
Innovators inspire andmotivate other potential
agents of change

INPUT

Additional change agents develop
and support innovative andimpactful solutions transforming
lives around the globe

IMPACTOUTPUTOUTCOMEThe Expo Live programme follows a three-pronged approach focused on methodically supporting novel
solutions from every corner of the world, connecting minds that encourage and catalyse innovation locally aswell as globally, and inspiring agents of change by showcasing how GIs successfully market social innovations
and deliver tangible impact for people and the planet.

Global Innovators demonstrate that
innovative solutions, irrespective ofsize and geography, can transform
lives anywhere, for anyone

Expo Live establishes a network
for collaboration between nations,organisations and innovators
around shared global challenges

Global innovators have accessto influential social networks(politicians, world leaders, businessworld, development community)

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
19

ENABLING EARLY-STAGE AND
YOUNG ENTERPRISES
Our innovators come from a variety of diverse
contexts, sectors and with specific needs. The
Innovation Impact Grant Programme (IIGP), forexample, focuses on start-ups and social enterprises
in both developed and less-developed markets thatneed grants of up to USD 100,000 to fuel and scale
their projects.
The aim was to build a portfolio that includes solutions
from prototype stage (testing and validating a working
model), implementation (in-market and continuous
product or service improvement), and those building
the pathways to scale (expanding the product orservice). Funding levels depend on the stage ofmaturity of the enterprise, its capacity to implement
and grow, and the extent of its impact in the subtheme
areas, as well as at community level.

“Finding the finance is hard. The investors all sit here
in Europe and in the US and they don’t understandthe problem we are addressing”

KITTY LIAOFounder Ideabatic

FOCUS AREAS – OPPORTUNITY, MOBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY AS TIMELESSDRIVERS OF PROGRESS

Opportunity

Mobility

Sustainability

Opportunity is about unlocking
the potential of individuals andcommunities to shape a better future.

Mobility explores the many different
ways in which movement can bring theworld closer together.

Sustainability reflects our commitment
to respecting and living in balance with
our planet.

•

Education•

Transportation••

Employment•

Travel and exploration

Natural ecosystems andbiodiversity•

New industries•

Personal mobility•

Resources
Sustainable cities and built habitats•

Financial capital•

Logistics••

Governance•Digital connectivity•

Climate change•

Green growth

THOROUGH, TRANSPARENT AND INDEPENDENT SELECTION PROCESS

Competitive calls for proposal were
issued at regular intervals and distributed
through multiple channels, including theExpo Live webpage and social media, as
well as introduced by network partners.
Additionally, when we became awareof projects that were well suited to our
objectives, we invited abstract submissions.

Eligible abstracts were evaluated andshortlisted by the Evaluation team using
an iterative scoring system. Applicantsreceived feedback from Expo Live within
20 to 40 working days after the abstract
application deadline.

Shortlisted applicants were invited tosubmit a full application with supporting
documents. The evaluators reviewed
and assessed the proposals based onalignment with Expo Live’s objectives,
assessing each proposal
for Innovativeness, Impact,
Quality of Submission.

Finalising the selection process, we invited
selected GIs to come and pitch in Dubai
during a three-day event. We invited Expo
2020 Dubai Premier Partners and embassy
representatives from the global community
to watch the pitches and support theirfellow countrymen and women.

For the final grant award, Expo Liveconsidered the diversity of geographic
representation, the spread of innovations
related to the subthemes of Opportunity,
Mobility and Sustainability, and therepresentation of technologies, projects,
and business models at
different stages of maturity.

STEP 1
Project
origination
STEP 9Attending
EXPO 2020
Dubai

All global social innovators were invited toshowcase their innovations live at the
Expo 2020 Dubai.

STEP 8
Project report

The social enterprise shared a final reportdetailing the outcomes of funding. They
highlighted business growth, Impact KPIs,
technological developments, and otherpartnerships made during the
grant process.

STEP 7Site
visitsAt this stage, grant managers,
accompanied by other team members,
carried out site visits to get a deeper
understanding of the social enterprise andany adjustments that could be made, as
well as witness the impact created firsthand. The visit was often a pre-requisite
to release the disbursement of the second
tranche of funding.

STEP 6
Grant
agreement

Once a grant received approval for funding,an award notification letter was sent to theapplicant. The GI and the assigned grantmanager went through a collaborative
process to define an implementation
plan, required budget, key performanceindicators (KPIs) and risk mitigation
measures. Once both parties had agreed,
Expo Live released the first round of funds
to the social enterprise.

STEP 2
Reviewand shortlist

STEP 3Full
application

STEP 4Live
presentation

STEP 5Grant
approval“An Expo Live grant gives a unique opportunity for a social enterprise to test, grow theirsolution and at the same time create impact. We work with companies on defining their
Theory of Change and help to measure and communicate their impact. This allows them toraise additional funding.”

SOFIYA OSHCHEBSKA
Grant Manager, Expo LiveEXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
21

THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC AND THE EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND
Expo Live launched an Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) in March 2020, aligned with the UAE’s wider response to theglobal pandemic. As an outcome of this initiative, 15 organisations from 13 countries that were facing immediate
financial hardship were funded, allowing them to continue making positive change in their communities. The
relief fund also sought to support new initiatives proposed by grantees, in response to the impact of Covid-19 on
their communities.
Grantees that have received ERF assistance include Kenya-based Selina Wamucii, a global sourcing platform for
fresh food and agricultural produce from African smallholder farmers.

“When many programmes were cut to save costs
at Expo 2020, we worked hard to extend funding toExpo Live enterprises quickly, knowing that they are
the ones on the frontline and need it the most.”

SOFIYA OSHCHEBSKA
Grant Manager, Expo Live“At the beginning of the pandemic, our sales crashed.
We almost shut down as a company. The relief
funds allowed us to continue working and assistingsmallholder farmers. We were also able to protect
them with masks and sanitisers. Eventually weincreased the number of farmers on our platform by
1,300, the number of farmer co-operatives by 800,
and the traffic on our website grew from 20,000 to
60,000.”JOHN OROKO

Co-founder, Selina Wamucii

THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE
Expo Live incorporated a balanced, independent anddiverse panel, including individuals from internationalorganisations, private and public sectors as wellas the non-profit sector to ensure that the diverse

innovations were heard and considered from different
standpoints. A special thanks goes to our Evaluation
Committee members and for the time and passion
they dedicated to the programme.

“I look at the team, their background, how it’s related
to their business, as well as the scaling plan and how
they are planning to utilise the grant.”

HADI SAEED ALSHAKHORI

Evaluation Committee Member
Advisor Badir programme technology incubator and accelerator

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
23

Site Visit at My Shelter Foundation in the Philippines“A lot of times when we would go on site visits,
I would capture some of the projects on my social
media and people would ask ‘How can we bea part of something like this?’”YASMIN BAKER
Grant manager

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
25

EXPO LIVE’S
APPROACH
ADDRESSES
NEEDS AT EVERYSTAGE OF THE
ENTREPRENEURIAL
JOURNEY

IDEA
STAGE
TYPICALNEEDS

LAUNCHGROWINSPIREEDUCATEFORMESTABLISH

DEVELOPLAUNCHVALIDATE

FUND

GROW

Role models

Course, events andtraining camps

Find co-founders

Legal and technicalassistanceTechnical assistancePrototype market
Businessdevelopment
services

Pitching
opportunities

Infrastructure

Product
development
assistance

Networks (Industry
and Investor)

Exposure topotential investors

Businessdevelopment
services (pre-seed)

Seed capital /smart capital

Exposure topotential partners
and clients

Inspirational stories
Motivation

Team information

Build and validate
ideas in safe
environments

Access to workspace
Access to networks

Early hires

FOCUS OFEXPO LIVE

UNIVERSITY INNOVATION PROGRAMME

Businessdevelopment
services

Seed and series
A capital

Human capital /team expansion
Expand /new markets

INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAMME--CREATING THE FIRSTSOCIAL ENTERPRISE LICENSEPAVILIONGLOBAL INNOVATORS COMMUNITY
EMERGENCY RELIEF FUNDCOMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIPSFUNDRAISING AND INVESTOR CONNECTIONSEXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
27

8. RESULTS: FROM DREAM
TO REALITY

Application

Countries

Shortlisted

Pitchpresentation

Globalinnovators

Percentage
of total
applications

Total

11,011

184

1,148

193

140

1.3%

Cohort 1

576

71

155

35

29

5%

Cohort 2

483

87

52

18

14

3%

Cohort 3

1,246

113

171

36

25

2%

Cohort 4

4,661

167

500

73

50

1%

Cohort 5

4,045

170

271

31

22

0.5%

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
29

EXPO LIVE SUPPORTED A DIVERSE GROUP OF GLOBAL INNOVATORS IMPACTINGPEOPLE’S LIVES ACROSS THE PLANET

Global Innovator, region of operation
Globalinnovators
country ofoperations
per region

30
25
20
15

Globalinnovators
per cohort

35

10

30

5

25

26%

23%

22%

16%

10%

1%

Europe &North America

MENA

Sub-SaharanAfricaAsia

SouthAmerica

Oceania

0

20
15
10

Globalinnovators per
sub-theme

50
UIP

Cohort2

Cohort1

Cohort3

Cohort4

18%

Cohort536%• Opportunity• Mobility• Sustainability

46%

Global Innovator HQ

Globalinnovators
headquarters
per region

Globalinnovators
per sector

35

15

12

30
9
25
6

20
15

15%

6%

2%

13%

10%

8%

6%

4%

12%

7%

1%

4%

8%

4%

Agriculture

Community Development

Construction / Housing / Smart Cities

Education

Employment

EnergyEnvironment

Financial Technology

Healthcare

Information Communication Technology

Tourism / Lifestyle

Transportation & Logistics

Waste

Water

3
10
0

5
0
Europe &North America

MENA

Sub-SaharanAfricaAsia

SouthAmerica

Oceania

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
31

Type of funding(in USD)
attracted
by global
innovators
per typeof partner

Commercial
Partner
Non-Commercial
Partner

Funding Partner
20 billion $”40 billion $”60 billion $”• Client• Grant• LoanFunding raised
per scheme

80 billion $”• Investment• N /A

13%

9%

78%

• Mobility• Opportunity• Sustainability“We measure our impact based on the farmers’
improved livelihoods. By the third season we started
to see yields double and now our farmers have, on
average, seen their yields grow from just under two
tonnes per hectare to almost five.”

MANKA ANGWAFOFounder Grassland Cameroon

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
33

DELIVERING TANGIBLE IMPACT FOR PEOPLE
AND THE PLANETTOGETHER140
140 GLOBALGLOBALTOGETHERINNOVATORSFROMINNOVATORS FROM 76
76
COUNTRIES CONTRIBUTEDCONTRIBUTED TO:
COUNTRIESTO:

Protecting
or restoring

Saving36M

HECTARES of land

Positively
impacting

Providing
medicalassistance topeoplepeople

5.8M

6.3M

LITRES of water

Improving

1.1M

Advancing

760,000

Avoiding

611,000

190,000
TONNES of CO2

people’s educationand skills

farmers’
livelihoods

Creating+160,000
jobs

equivalent
CO2

USA

Sustainability

MoroccoSustainability

LebanonSustainability

MoroccoSustainability

RussiaSustainability

UAE

In Mozambique and Kenya,
Be Girl’s biology based
SmartCycle menstrualeducation workshops andlearning tools reached18,000 girls and boys, and
86,000 girls and boys
received educational flyers
in their local language withinformation about menstrualand reproductive health.

Through Posadi Les 9489
people have planted trees
without leaving their
computer and 2,572,525
trees have been planted
within the’plant a forest’framework in 52 regions of
the Russian federation.

Dar Si Hmad built the largest
fog-collection installation in
the world, with 1700 m2 ofmoisture capturing netting,which supplies potable waterto 16 villages in Southwest
Morocco. Women, who are thetraditional water-guardians,
have gained back the 3.5
hours daily for water-fetching,more girls are attending
school, and the villages areenjoying a better overall
quality of life.

Zelij developed an
innovative formula thatuses 80% plastic waste and
20% eco-friendly materials
to produce construction
materials that are 100%
sustainable while also being
more affordable.

CubeX is a home-scale
wastewater and solid
waste treatment systemthat enables households toprocess all of their organic
waste on site effortlessly.
Compost baladi hasdiverted over 4,500 metrictons of solid biowaste fromlandfills/dumpsites whileempowering over 450
refugees, farmers,women
on waste management andrelated topics.

Finland

YallaGive is the first licensed
online donation andcrowdfunding platform in the
Middle East. It is the firstplatform of its kind, providing
fully-authenticated services
entirely based on blockchain
technology. Since launch they
have fundraised AED
63,193,883 towards 2,079
campaigns in humanitarianand relief, health and medical,
social and community, andenvironment and nature.

RussiaLatviaDenmark
Ireland
Ireland

CanadaHaiti

Russian Federation

The Netherlands

Opportunity

UkraineFranceSustainability

Bangladesh

Bulgaria

USA

China
Malta

Through Coderdojo 58,000
young people are being
creative with technology
with the help of 12,000
volunteers in 117 countries.

Through the EkoLakayproject they have provided
over 6,000 residents withsafe, dignified access tosanitation, produced over
200 tonnes of compost,establishing a circular
economy model that also
addresses soil erosion anddeforestation.

MexicoCyprusMorocco
Egypt

Haiti

Japan

Palestine
JordanBahrainSaudi Arabia UAE
Oman

Mali
Guinea Bissau

GrenadaPakistan

Colombia

Ivory Coast

Ghana

MyanmarThailand

UgandaCameroon

Philippines

Ethiopia
Kenya

Kenya

Sustainability

Malaysia

RwandaEcuadorIndonesia
Costa Rica

Opportunity

Benin

Peru

Sustainability

BrazilColombia

Fundefir Nueva Esparta
created 214 newbankomulanes in Colombia,
thereby allowing 4,453
members to save USD
698,903 and access USD
3,976,616 in credit.

Argentina

Mobility
Chile
Argentina

OTTAA Project gives back avoice to those who lost it.
With images and artificial
intelligence, using any mobile
phone, it enables the
speech-impaired to talk again.

UgandaOpportunity

Almightly Services Plus
provided clean fuel andcookstoves to 4,170 people
in Benin, thereby avoiding
31,855 tons of CO2-eq.

Jibu enabled local entrepreneurs
to deliver 12 million litres of(portable) water to 58,250 rural
people (including refugees)
across Uganda.

Papua New
GuineaJapan

Madagascar
Mozambique

Opportunity
They have managed tobuild pallets with zerodeforestation, lower energy
consumption and a higher
rate of oxygen
regeneration, which meansthat their packaging helps
towards conservation andregeneration of theenvironment.

Apon provided healthawareness and training
sessions to 2,889 workers in the
Bangladeshi garment industryof which 1,794 accessed thehealth insurance plan.

Bangladesh
India

Nigeria
Guyana

Nepal

Benin

Costa Rica

South
Korea

LebanonJamaica

GuatemalaOpportunity

Kyrgyzstan

RwandaHydroponics deliveredhydroponic systems to 500
farmers across East Africa
thereby contributing to
generating 1,841 new farmerjobs and saving 936,000
litres of water.

Saudi Arabia

Mobility

Mobility

Babyl trained 323 health care
professionals who conductedmobile-based consultations for
44,695 unique patients in Rwanda.

Mobility

Labayh now has 120,000 clientsand logged more than one
million consultation minutes
in 2020. Due to the global
pandemic Labayh launched‘Labayh Hope’, a campaign tosupport people during thehealth crisis, and gave more than
10,000 free consultations.

WheelLog is the only
crowdsourced map in theworld that makes it possible
to visualise the routes
wheelchair users took
(TrackLog). by creating aninteractive map that allows
wheelchair users to clearly
see the accessibility of
public spaces, they promotea society where wheelchairusers and people withmobility challenges canfully enjoy their lives.

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
35

SUPPORTING NOVEL SOLUTIONSSupporting novel
solutions

Input

OutputOutcomes

Expo Live provides
financial and technicalassistance to selectedsocial and innovative
entrepreneurs andenterprises

Supported enterprises
improve their impact
measurement andmanagement (IMM)systems and theirfinancial and impact
performance as aresult of Expo Live’s
supportSocial entrepreneurs
demonstrate that
innovative solutions,irrespective of sizeand geography, cantransform lives

Global Innovators were able to initiate hundredsof financial, commercial and non-commercial
partnerships, as well as mobilise significant resources
by improving their investment readiness and accessing
influential networks. Connections and partnerships
were realised between grantees and powerful
networks of corporates, investors, universities, anddevelopment partners.

Altogether, the supported innovators managed toraise over USD 160 million between 2016 and 2021 –with funding partners primarily providing investments,
non-commercial partners providing grants, andcommercial partners becoming clients.

Number of partnerships

Volume of partnerships$186$17,449,381

277$21,819,082$79,117,313$79,117,313
$409

•
•
•

ENABLING EARLY-STAGE AND YOUNG ENTERPRISESAt the core of our programme was the intention to
support novel solutions. This required us to reachacross geographies, institutional boundaries, industry
clusters, cultures, and disciplines. We made a distinct
effort to reach people in remote areas and those lessdigitally connected.

Improvement of
IMM practices

Increasing
investment
readiness

Access to influential
networks

The selected Global Innovators benefited from
Expo Live funding and assistance, allowing manyof them to strengthen their businesses and improvetheir performance.

As part of the Expo Live Grant programme, grant managers collaborated with each global innovator to
identify appropriate impact KPIs, define the measurement practices, and implement data tracking andreporting systems.

The Expo Live team worked with selected Global Innovators to improve their investment readiness,among others by developing investment and fundraising documentation to investors.

Funding partner
Non-commercial partner
Commercial partner•••

Funding partner
Non-commercial partner
Commercial partner“When I first came to Haiti and experienced the need
to use a bathroom – and the fact that there wasn’t
one – it became clear to me what a fundamental
dignity issue sanitation is.”SASHA KRAMERFounder, SOIL

Through Expo Live, Global Innovators gained access to potential clients, partners and investors(see more further down).

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
37

InvestEd offers affordable and flexible loan products
to students from low-income households in thePhilippines. Instead of loan processors, students
applying for a loan at InvestEd are accommodated
by financial counsellors. Once repayment begins,students primarily deal with coaches instead ofcollectors.
Location

Theme

SectorPHILIPPINESOPPORTUNITYEDUCATION

With the rightfunding and support
at the right time,
Global Innovators
scaled theirbusinesses andimpact 10x

In 2018, when InvestEd applied for the Expo Live grant, the company was just past pilot, theco-founders were not able to pay salaries to themselves and no one in the region believed in theidea of pro-student loans. The grant allowed InvestEd to test and further develop their loan products
to vulnerable target groups such as young mothers, hire nine additional employees over the following
12 months, and catalyse additional funding. Through the network of global innovators, InvestEd
found a supporting community with whom they have exchanged stories, learned from and increased
their resilience.
As the pandemic hit, InvestEd’s newly formulated business became irrelevant within the blink of aneye. With the emergency support from Expo Live, InvestEd was able to take a step back and reconsider
what learning in the face of a pandemic would look like and what that would mean for a student’s
financial and non-financial needs. By doing so – and doing so quickly – InvestEd has been able togrow the organisation to 50 employees and finance more students in 2021 than in the three former
years combined.

Connecting minds that encourage and catalyseinnovation has been a key ambition for the Expo Liveprogramme. We have partnered with catalysers ofsocial innovation, collaborated with regional and local
innovation ecosystems, and facilitated connections
and partnership among innovators, nations andorganisations, to establish influential social networks
where innovation can flourish.

PARTNERING WITH CATALYSERS OF
SOCIAL INNOVATION: STANDING ON THE
SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
When we started, we had plenty of ideas andexcitement but also limited experience on how best tobuild and support a community of Global Innovators.
We learned from others and immediately experienced
the power of collaboration first-hand.
We were privileged to be able to partner with Global
Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and visit theirconference in Bahrain. Our partner F6S, provided
the platform to receive and evaluate applications. In
addition, we visited Badir in Saudi Arabia and tapped
into the invaluable knowledge, experience, andrelations of the global innovation ecosystem. This has
proven invaluable, allowing us to reach more than
11,000 innovators from 184 countries.

Global catalysers
of innovation

CONNECTING MINDS

Connecting
minds

Input

OutputExpo Live establishes
a network forcollaboration between
nations, organisations
and innovators
around shared global
challenges

Global Innovators
have access toinfluential social
networks (politicians,
world leaders,business world,development
community)

Outcomes
Connected minds
encourage andcatalyse innovationfrom anyone,
anywhere

Regional and local
ecosystems

GlobalInnovators

Partnering with global
catalysers of social
innovation

Raising awarenessof socialentrepreneurship in
local and regional
ecosystems

Providing access toinfluential networks
and facilitating
connections andpartnerships among
Global Innovators“Expo Live believed in our idea when no one else
did. As our first significant funder, they allowed us
to really focus on the business and product. This
was the instrumental piece in growing the businessto where it is today – and, ultimately, serving more
vulnerable students year on year.”

CARMINA BAYOMBONG
InvestEd“Beyond being a grant programme, Expo Live is
a community. Innovators, beneficiaries, and of course
the wider network of ecosystem partners have all
supported and believed in the Expo Live vision. Ourcommunity is the epitome of ‘connecting minds’.”

DANA AL MEHZA
Grant Manager, Expo Live

What we did

EffectConnecting with existingand experienced actors
and ecosystems toleverage their learnings andnetworks

Expo Live has been able toreach Global Innovators inevery corner of the worldand bring global resources
to regional and local
ecosystems as well as to
Global Innovators directly

Presentation, talks,
workshops, including
contributing to theformulation of a social
entrepreneurship certificate

Local and regionalinnovation ecosystems
recognise the power ofsocial innovation and are
better equipped to support
Global Innovators

Allowing Global Innovators
to access influential
networks and facilitating
connections andpartnerships among Global
Innovators and corporates

Global Innovators havemobilised significant
resources through financial,commercial and noncommercial partnerships

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
39

PARTNERSHIP WITH BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION

Throughout the Expo Live journey, we have actively
pursued partnerships with international stars ofinnovation and impact. For example, we partneredwith the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center, with theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation on a collaborative
fund for Humanitarian Innovation, as well as organiseda joint summit with Acumen in Nairobi with leadersfrom across the corporate, impact investment and“Sheraa is committed to transforming the passion
and curiosity of young entrepreneurs into innovative
solutions that can be scaled up to address real world
needs and help build more inclusive and resilient
societies. Our partnership with Expo Live’s University
Innovation Programme was an opportunity to work
towards our shared goal of empowering future
generations of entrepreneurs, by providing themsocial enterprise spheres in Kenya on the theme of‘Delivering for the Future of Smallholder Farmers’.
We also built valuable partnerships with the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP), Ashoka,
Endeavour, Cambridge Centre for Global Equality,and USAID, to name only a few.

with the essential skills and resources to bring
their creative ideas to life. We are proud of ourcollaboration with Expo Live, knowing that it has
not only helped youth realise their full potential aschangemakers, but has helped cement the UAE’s
position as a home for Global Innovators.”

NAJLA AL MIDFA

CEO, Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa)

In August 2020, Expo 2020 Dubai teamed up with
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support
grassroots innovators in improving the lives of people
living in challenging environments. The collaboration
promotes innovation in global humanitarian anddevelopment responses. The Gates Foundation’s
Emergency Response Programme helps communities
build strong systems to strengthen their ability tobuild back better in the wake of a crisis – sharedexpertise, best practices and technical assistance witha specific focus on water, sanitation, health, agriculture
and financial inclusion. Learnings from the Expo Live
Global Innovators will help the Gates Foundation’s
Emergency Response Programme assess how
grassroots solutions can be applied elsewhere in theworld, spreading optimism for the future and inspiring
further action towards the SDGs.
Grantees identified under the initiative include
PichaEats, a Malaysia-based catering and mealbox service powered by Picha chefs – refugees
who create authentic delicacies and cuisines fromtheir homelands; myAgro, which uses cell phone
technology to enable smallholder farmers in Mali
to set aside funds for the purchase of high-quality
agricultural supplies and training; and finally, Seenaryo,
which supports life skills and academic achievement
for children in refugee and local communities across
Lebanon and Jordan.

“More than ever before, the world is in need ofinnovative solutions to support the millions of people
living through challenging environments caused bynatural emergencies or complex emergencies withpeople displaced by war and civil unrest.
The partnership helps fund and develop ideas
from across the world that have the potential tosave lives during an emergency or enable affected
communities to build back better and safer, andbecome more resilient over the long-term. We
look forward to working with Expo Live and social
entrepreneurs globally to spotlight solutions that candeliver a positive impact within some of the world’s
most challenging humanitarian settings.”

VALERIE BEMO

Deputy Director for Global Development
Emergency Response programme, Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
41

RAISING AWARENESS OF SOCIALENTREPRENEURSHIP IN LOCAL AND
REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMSWe learnt that while we could tap into a global
network for insights in many regions of the world,that was not the case in our own region. We realised
during the first grant cycles that fewer applications
were coming from GCC countries. We learnt that theidea of impact investing was still in the early days in
the region. As part of our own adjustments, westarted getting much more involved with local
partners. We reached out to accelerators andincubators to address this gap, in addition toparticipating in start-up events to inform people
about our programme. We partnered with universities
to start the UIP and eventually got involved at thepolicy level to support the development of thefirst-ever Social Entrepreneurship Certificate.

“Before trying to influence mindsets or createchange, our efforts focused on understanding theregion around us. To achieve that, we met withnumerous stakeholders. I still remember the trips
I took and the conversations I had in our earlydays at Expo Live with neighbouring countries.
The essence of Expo Live sparked passion within
their communities and I personally witnessed how

a conversation influenced the shift in an entire
economy, that lacked the existence of the termsocial entrepreneurship, and eventually led to theestablishment of social enterprises and governmentled programmes to support them.”

FATMA IBRAHIM

Grant Manager, Expo LiveTHE SUMMIT – WHEN INNOVATORS FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE PLANET UNITEThe Global Innovators Summit is a flagship eventthat gathers grantees from all cohorts to meet andnetwork with each other. It is an opportunity to cometogether and network, share ideas and learn from eachother’s experiences and ongoing journeys. Attendees
also take advantage of opportunities to network with
Expo 2020’s Premier Partners such as Accenture,
Cisco, DP World, Emirates NBD, Etisalat, PepsiCo and
SAP, plus Official Partners DEWA, Emaar Hospitality
and UPS, who offer support and advice throughout
the Summit.
In 2018, 70 Expo Live Global Innovators came to
Dubai for a three-day programme. They participatedin networking events, one-on-one meetings,

presentations, business coaching and mentorshipprovided by different organisations. The 2019 Summit
was held under the theme ‘Passion Meets Capability’.
It was the largest gathering of Global Innovators todate, bringing together more than 200 participants,
including Expo 2020 Dubai official participants,
experts, and ecosystem players.
Feedback from the events has shown that participants
gain significant learnings and are inspired by thestories and journeys of their fellow Global Innovators.
Moreover, the event enabled the Global Innovators
to identify new opportunities for collaboration andexpansion.

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
43

Habaybna (Jordan) is the first online platform toprovide specialist Arabic content supporting parentsof children of determination. The platform aims to
improve the lives of children dealing with Autism,
Dyslexia, Down syndrome and Cerebral Palsy andother challenges. They work across the MENA region
providing free expert content, as well as direct accessto experts through remote support as needed.

Location

Theme

SectorJORDANOPPORTUNITYCOMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT

Ustad Mobile is an open-source mobile learning appthat supports almost any device - smartphones,
tablets, laptops and even feature / simple phones.
It aims to create an inclusive open-source digitallearning platform that reaches educators andlearners, including those with limited internet access,limited device access, disabilities. Ustad Mobile
enables education providers including governments,
NGOs and the private sector to improve the deliveryof inclusive and equitable quality education andreduce inequalities.

Location

Theme

SectorUAE

OPPORTUNITYEDUCATION

In September 2019, Expo Live invited regionally based Global Innovators to participate in the
GITEX event in Dubai. At the Expo Live stand, Benita (Co-founder of Ustad Mobile) and Reem (fromHabaybna) met for the first time. Benita reached out to Reem for advice on working in Jordan, where
Ustad Mobile had just expanded its offering. This conversation blossomed into brainstorming the many
ways to collaborate, and the two promised to continue the dialogue in Jordan on Benita’s next trip.
Facilitating
partnerships among
Global Innovators

Their collaboration was further motivated by a partnership Ustad Mobile had with Plan Jordan,
an inclusion programme that offers support to refugees in Azraq, Jordan. Plan Jordan’s offering
was a perfect fit with Ustad Mobile’s platform; however, it also required resources for children ofdetermination, for which Habaybna was the ideal source. Four months after meeting in Dubai,
Habaybna and Ustad Mobile launched free, offline, regionally specific content. Both Global Innovators
actively scope their networks to determine how to expand the use of their content in Jordan and othervulnerable communities.

GITEX is the Middle East and Africa’s largest startup gathering of global tech entrepreneurs, international investors and influential corporate
buyers with more than 750 SMEs participating annually. Since 2017, Expo Live has showcased the Innovation Impact Grant Programme and its
Global Innovators at the annual event some of which have received significant attention.

3

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
45

INSPIRING AGENTS OF CHANGE

Inspiring agentsof change

Incluyeme.com is the first job portal in Latin America
aimed at helping people with disabilities find work.

Input

OutputOutcomes

Expo Live provides
a platform forshowcasing theinnovation andimpact of social
entrepreneurs aroundthe globe

The showcasedsocial and innovative
entrepreneurs inspire
and motivate otherpotential agents ofchangeAdditional change
agents develop andsupport innovativeand impactful
solutions transforming
lives around the globe

We wanted to empower new agents of change,
act as a multiplier, and transform more lives aroundthe globe. We did so by providing a platform forshowcasing the Global Innovators. Their stories
inspired others to follow suit and gain the courageto act on their own ideas.

“Seeing the stories of people whose lives have been
impacted or seeing the change on the ground withthings like landscapes or reforestation projects… thisis profound and rewarding.”

YASMIN BAKER

Grant Manager, Expo Live

Location

Theme

Sector

ARGENTINAOPPORTUNITYEMPLOYMENT

During the Global Innovator Summit in Dubai in 2018, Gabriel Marcolongo (founder of Incluyeme) met
with Thea Myhrvold (founder of TeachMeNow).
TeachMeNow is a one stop destination to choose, connect with, and learn online from qualified
mentors. The platform offers learners one-to-one personalised sessions or the flexibility to collaborate
in groups with other learners of similar interests.
Uniting in the quest
to solve some of
the world’s pressing
challenges

On the sidelines of the summit, both Global Innovators mapped out a new collaboration for Incluyemeto leverage TeachMeNow’s technology to deliver high-quality online training sessions to people ofdetermination.
To bring even more impact to the trainings, Accenture, as a part of their ‘Skills to Succeed initiative’,
is now providing Incluyeme with a pool of corporate mentors to improve training quality and assist
people with determination in job placements.
This is a shining example of triangular cooperation, where not only Global Innovators, but also Expo’s
Premier Partners, unite in the quest to solve some of the world’s pressing challenges.

EXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
47

UNIVERSITY INNOVATION PROGRAMME(UIP) - INSPIRING YOUNG INNOVATORS
Apart from global social innovators, Expo Live’s
Innovation Grant programme also attracted numerous
applications from university students which prompted
the University Innovation programme (UIP). In line with
Expo Live’s feedback culture, this idea was further
developed with support from the Knowledge andHuman Development Authority (KHDA) and throughmany brainstorming sessions with universities, faculty
members and students across the UAE. The successful
launch of the UIP was through a collaborative processof engagement with our end-users and innovators.

Project You is a collaborative platform to facilitate
self-discovery and capacity building of skill andtalent. Project You offers individual mentorship andguidance through a robust programme involving
schools, national and international strategicorganisations, passionate psychologists, and industry
leaders. The aim is to uncover and harness the best inyouth potential. Project You is building systems thatbridge the gap between schools and the real world
through programmes that are relevant, impactful, andexperiential.

and the Middle East region. UIP rewards innovativeand promising conceptual solutions that can be
accelerated through the innovation curve, movingfrom ideation to validation and prototyping. The
primary objective of the programme is to change
the mindset of young people in the UAE and trigger
their interest in social innovation. Expo Live hasawarded 46 grantees from 19 universities researchand development grants and exposure to networking
opportunities.

Location

Theme

Sector

DUBAI - UAE

OPPORTUNITYEDUCATION

UIP is a short-cycle, grant-making innovationcompetition for students and mentors on social
impact challenges that are relevant to the UAE

In 2017, Abdul Matheen was a final year student studying Aeronautical Engineering from Emirates
Aviation University. During his final months in the course, he came across a poster titled, ‘If you havethe power of Expo behind you, what would you do?’ After having a discussion with his friends, the key
theme of education came up. They realised that there was a gap in how students perceived educationand learning, and its effect on their future. This was further reinforced by the existing state of youth
unemployment and youth underemployment in the region. With this, they realised that current systems
lack the agility to keep pace with the world and the needs of learners today.

“It’s a wonderful experience, especially when you get
to witness the other projects.”

U-LIGHTStudent team from American University of Sharjah

Since the UIP was launched, Expo Live has gone out
into the market – across all seven emirates – to meet
students face-to-face and understand their needs.
Access to a platform that believes in their creativity
and offers long-term support was a common request
among young innovators. In response, Expo Livejoined forces with the Sharjah EntrepreneurshipCenter (Sheraa) to provide a bespoke programme thatempowers young innovators with the tools necessary
for the next stages of their entrepreneurial journeys.
Specifically designed to support UIP grantees, thisprogramme saw innovators mentored by Sheraa’s inhouse team of experts, helping them to develop skills
and strategies that can be applied across all stages of
future growth.

CHANGING THE MINDSET OF YOUNGPEOPLE IN THE UAE TO BELIEVE THATSOCIAL INNOVATION COULD BE A WAY
OF DISCOVERING THEIR MISSION IN LIFE

We strongly believe that we owe the success of
the UIP programme to the process through which
it was born – through continuous dialogue andbrainstorming with universities and students acrossthe UAE. This in turn informed changes in the Expo
Live programme, which evolved and developed its
process based on the feedback from innovators.

The team successfully pitched the idea of a parallel curriculum that could bridge the gaps in school
curricula, to the Expo Live UIP. The question posed - ‘Why isn’t education adapting to the needs of theworld?’ revealed a gap in two areas: people skills and real world learning.
Facilitating
partnerships among
Global Innovators••

People skills: “...we’re not taught people skills in school but at the end of the day the biggest
challenge that corporations face is related to people… it’s the soft skills that really make adifference to the development of these organisations, and yet we are not teaching this inschool…” - Abdul Matheen, co-founder, Project You
Real-world learning and career-centred learning: The team successfully tested a four-weekprogramme with 37 students from one school that attracted interest from the Ministry of
Education. There was potential to incorporate the programme into the public school system,
and with additional funding from Expo Live they were able to reach 1000 students from eightschools in a period of 1.5 years, leading to a full year programme called Build and Guild.

Project You has grown and now functions under three arms: Project You Schools, Project You
Government and Project You Community. Through local and private partnerships, they are working on
establishing Talent Incubators and Schools of Life which leverages the power of libraries.

“One thing that motivated me to go intosocial entrepreneurship was asking myself –if I choose not to pursue a career in aviation,
how quickly am I replaceable? What makes
me different from another junior engineer?
Project You is a very unique experienceand very few people are lucky enough to“When the Project You team applied to Expo Live, allthey had was an idea on a piece of paper. They are
now a registered start-up in the UAE. Project You isliving proof that if you are dedicated and passionate,
you maximise your chances of finding the rightpeople to back you. The team’s success just goes toshow that there’s no such thing as a small idea.”

continue to do something like this. Was it
easy? Absolutely not, but we’re starting to
see the fruits of the sacrifice, the hard workand development over those years”

FATMA IBRAHIM

Grant Manager, Expo Live4

ABDUL MATHEEN,
co-founder, Project You

Project You grows to UAE start-up (2019, April 8). Khaleej Times. Retrieved from https://www.khaleejtimes.com/local-business/project-you-grows-to-uae-start-up

4

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THE GOOD PLACE PAVILION BY EXPOLIVE – A PHYSICAL PLACE THAT ROSE UP
FROM THE DESERT SANDS TO BECOME A
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR MILLIONSOF PEOPLE
The Good Place Pavilion, located in the Opportunity
District, was created to share real stories and inspire
everyone. It introduces visitors to extraordinary
innovations by ordinary people, and inspires visitors
to join the community.
A human-focused experience, ‘The Good Place
Pavilion’ was designed by Ahmad Abdulrahman
Bukhash, founder of Dubai architecture practiceArchidentity and a UAE national. Its design was
inspired by the traditional Bedouin tent where apivotal 1968 meeting took place between the lateHis Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan andthe late His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al
Maktoum. This momentous meeting, which led to thebirth of the UAE in 1971, was to achieve a common
vision and a sustainable future for their people.

“Most visitors to the Expo are here to have fun anddiscover something exciting. Every pavilion has
a positive note, celebrating either achievement,
progress, crafting the future… Our visitor experience
was crafted to inspire and shed light on social
innovation. It’s interesting to tackle serious matters
yet exemplify how people selflessly work in thecontext of Expo.”“Architecture is about bringing the inside, outside.
The Expo Live Pavilion is a showcase for exactly that,exemplifying the notion that an idea is not limited
by a single box – it is transformative, outreaching
and radiant, and can affect all people around it. Oneof the challenges in designing the ‘The Good Place’was capturing – and captivating audiences around– the idea of Expo Live. As visitors enter, they will see
a mirage of visuals where their reflections appear
alongside images of Global Innovators. The design,
co-created by Takeshi Maruyama and Sireen Ali,
empowers visitors to see that those seeking to dogood are ordinary people, like you or me.”

AHMAD ABDULRAHMAN BUKHASH
Chief Architect and Founder, Archidentity

NANCY CARDA
Pavilion Director

The pavilion’s exhibits aim to touch hearts, hands
and minds, leading to action. Through a thoughtfully
designed immersive experience, each aspect of
the space invites visitors into the stories of Global
Innovators, and their journey from idea to reality. The
heart section of the pavilion profiles heroes of thecommunity, and their actions taken from a perspectiveof selfless good. The hands section showcases thecommunity of Global Innovators. Themed aroundthe idea of a market, this section explicitly focuses
the spotlight on countries that are not regularly inthe headlines as sites of innovation. The mind sectionis the most powerful part of the pavilion because
it suggests to the audience that they can make adifference. The cumulative effect is a space that makes
real the dreams of innovators, their journeys and theirrole as catalysers of change.

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PAVILION SATISFACTION AND IMPACT REPORT
Visitors were asked about their experience at the Expo Live Pavilion. About 80,000 respondents mentioned thatthey felt inspired to:

Support projects highlighted in the exhibition
Support other projects that aim to do good for society
Pursue my own ideas for a project that will do goodContribute my time and energy to support projects that do good
Spread word about projects highlighted in the pavilion
Nothing
0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

A PLACE FOR IMAGINING
THE FUTURE
The events organised at The Good Place Pavilion
are part of Expo 2020’s Programme for People andPlanet. The Programme for People and Planet is aplatform for the free and open exchange of new
ideas and innovations. Its design helps reimagine
the global economy. It places equality, universal
respect and human dignity at the centre of humanprogress and instils a sense of responsibility to livein harmony and balance with the natural world.
Through five tracks – Build Bridges, Leave No One
Behind, Live in Balance, Thrive Together and UAE
Vision 2071 – humanity’s most pressing challenges
are explored through a cultural, social, environmental
and economic lens.

Expo Live Impact Series – These are conversations
and networking events designed to bring together
like-minded individuals to discuss how purposeful
innovations can play a meaningful role in creating
a better future. At the heart of these events are the
140 Global Innovators whose stories and innovations
are the essence of the Good Place pavilion. The
Impact Series is organised along eight Theme Weeks:
Climate, Global Goals, Food, Health, Knowledge,
Tolerance, Urban and Rural, Water. Over the six
months of the Expo, 40 panel discussions wereconducted by Expo Live Global Innovators, as well asother Expo participants and ecosystem partners.

“All it takes is the first step. And you too can help keep
this map of good people shining above our heads.”

NANCY CARDA

Director - Exposure, Pavilion

YALLAGIVE AND THE POWER OF A SMILE

Visitors to the pavilion can choose a cause they wantto support. Their selection is followed by a request
to pose for a picture with a smile! A smile inside thepavilion is equivalent to a dirham. With one kindgesture, you make a donation to children in need.
YallaGive was founded by UAE-based social innovator
Abdulla Al Nuaimi and is Middle East’s first online
fundraising and donations platform.

Oscar Wood Founder at Seenaryo during Expo Live.
How to make learning a meaningful experience at The Good Place Pavilion by Expo Live.
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REFLECTION IN HINDSIGHT
Expo Live Meet the Innovator Sessions - Expo Liveinvited 115 Global Innovators and three UIP Grantees
to become a part of Expo Live Programming at Expo
2020 Dubai. Innovators were invited to deliver a
Meet the Innovator Session. This is an opportunity for
Expo Live Global Innovators to present themselves
and their innovations to a wider audience, including
country representatives, Expo 2020 Dubai partners,
regional and international ecosystem experts, fellow
Global Innovators and of course the general public.
Networking Events - A flagship networking event
was hosted each Theme Week, bringing together theparticipants of the week with a chance to connect
and create partnerships. Other events and initiatives
include the Global Innovators Opening the Expo
gates, the solar lights making workshops by Liter ofLight, guided tours of other Expo pavilions (Women’s
Pavilion, Vision Pavilion, Dubai Cares Pavilion) as
well as media interviews and exposure for Global
Innovators.

“Without the Expo my project would just not be
where it is today. I was able to transform just alittle prototype, go to the field and test, because
that’s really what was needed… Going to Nigeria,
seeing how the vaccines were really delivered…
understanding problems first-hand in the field”.

KITTY LIAOFounder and CEO Ideabatic

9. SCALING OUR IMPACT:OUR JOURNEY CONTINUES

We reflected on how we might do things differently
in the future. With the benefit of hindsight, we believethat if we had a second chance, we might direct ourenergies towards three actions.
•

Increase partnerships with other impact
investors and philanthropic organisations•

Focus on adapting our strategy to local
contexts•

Introduce different financial instruments
including loans, equity and guarantees
depending on the size and stage of theenterprise

These insights gained from experience prompt us tobetter ourselves. Perhaps these impressions are also
found in the people whose perspectives have beenaltered, communities built, and lives changed.

It seems yesterday when we started with a promise
to be inclusive about innovation, and now Expo 2020is already coming to an end in March 2022. The
world out there has changed, and so have we. We areenergised by the journeys of the Global Innovators,
but there is also so much more to be done.

“I was honoured, humbled and extremely proud tobe part of the Expo Live family. We have grown andmatured as a company and personally for me as
founder and CEO.”CHRISTIAN ERFURT
CEO, Be My Eyes

There has been a transformation in the way
we engage with each other. There is a sense ofcommunity and togetherness created with the
Global Innovators that goes much beyond funding.
What we have experienced is a transition from amindset of competition to a mindset of a community,
collaboration, inspiration and growth. There is a senseof being part of something bigger.
There is also a collective responsibility to support
not just the 140 Global Innovators but the thousandsof potential innovators yet to be reached. We know
they are out there, ingenious and courageous. They
all face challenges and are at different stages in theirinnovation lifecycle. They need us to grow and scale,as much as we need them to safeguard our future.
Some of them, like the smaller and younger
enterprises, will still rely on grant funding to provetheir case with a prototype. They may bring tomarket their solutions, attract first investors andcommercial partners – as we have seen throughout
the Expo Live programme. Some of these enterprises
will become profitable and no longer reliant on
grants.

That is where they will need to access investment
capital and integrate into the economic world.
Investment capital provides discipline because
financing is provided only to enterprises that candemonstrate how they will be able to scale andoperate profitably. It puts pressure on the enterprises
to improve processes, focus on core values andcontinuously innovate. It is also a chance to accessa larger financing envelope, necessary to scale thesolutions across the globe. This is in line with theincreased global appetite for impact investing –investments that provide not only financial return, butalso social and environmental impact.
There is an urgent need for the global community
to nurture innovation from everywhere, to supportsocial innovations to become viable enterprises
and for investors to start integrating impact
considerations into their investment decisions. Manyof these Global Innovators have viable and profitablebusiness propositions. From an impact perspective
there is an opportunity to complement grantfunding with impact investments, enhance impact byproviding access to more capital, and by reinfusing
capital as loans are paid back.
There is a real opportunity to generate soundfinancial returns while building a better future.

YOUSUF CAIRES

Senior Vice President, Expo LiveEXPO LIVE | IMPACT REPORT | 2022
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