- The Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an announces 10 teams for the third cycle of its Social Incubator
- Shortlisted teams will undergo a 90 day-training programme to develop their innovative and original ideas into business ventures
- Ma’an will provide the teams with access to milestone-based funding, mentorship, office space, business expertise and investors.
Abu Dhabi, 19 October 2020: The Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an announced today the ten winning teams in the third cycle of the Ma’an Social Incubator programme.
Designed to strengthen family interactions and create stronger emotional bonding between family members in Abu Dhabi, this cycle received 338 applications.
The 10 selected teams are made up of enthusiastic and talented social entrepreneurs from 13 countries, based here in Abu Dhabi including the UAE, India, Greece, United Kingdom, USA and Russia.
Following the success of its pilot programme centered around bettering the lives of People of Determination in Abu Dhabi, and its second cycle which focused on improving mental wellbeing in Abu Dhabi, Ma’an launched the third cycle in July under the theme of ‘Family Cohesion’.
The topic has been identified by the Department of Community Development, Abu Dhabi, placing the importance of family values, developing deeper connections and becoming a better family member.
Findings from the 2018 Better Life Index survey indicated that on the topic of strong social relations and family communication in Abu Dhabi, 84 per cent of respondents said they were part of a strong support network compared to the average rate of 89 per cent from OECD countries.
The selected teams have created innovative solutions including online storytelling sessions for parents to build stronger emotional bonds with their children, a mobile application that connects married couples with psychologists and marriage experts, and physical family exercises.
The Ma’an Social Incubator programme is the first-of-its-kind in the region, with each of the ten winning teams eligible to receive funding from Ma’an, who will invest more than AED 2 million in total in this cycle.
Ma’an will guide the teams through a 90 day-training programme to develop their innovative and original ideas into business ventures, which will make families more cohesive, graduating at the end of the year.
Director General of Ma’an, Her Excellency Salama Al Ameemi said: “We are happy to have received more than 330 applications, all with outstanding ideas and innovations. We are proud to have selected ten teams whose projects we believe will play a vital role in enhancing the cohesiveness and unity of families in Abu Dhabi.
“Family is the foundation of every community. In order to contribute to a healthy society, we must ensure that we begin by promoting healthy and solid family ties that will inspire and enable our community members to collaborate to overcome other pressing social challenges.
“This cycle of the MSI is the perfect platform and with Ma’an’s guidance and support, the 10 entrepreneurial teams can make their dream a reality by creating innovative services and products that will create a positive impact that will not just benefit families but the whole of Abu Dhabi. We look forward to nurturing this new round of teams to become the change for a better tomorrow.”
Dr. Yousef Al Hammadi, Acting Executive Director, Knowledge and Entrepreneurship Sector at ECA and MSI judge, said: “The process of choosing the winning teams was rigorous yet personalized to each team’s needs; diverse teams from private and public sectors who were experienced in the business world were identified. The ideas presented to us were to tackle problems surrounding young children as well as parents and elderly who expressed some sort of lack of communication and emotional gaps between one another. There was a set of criteria predetermined by the Ma’an team – personally, the most important one for me was the passion and the experiences of the founding team members followed by the creativity of solutions.”
Muneera Al Ali, Director of Studies and Research Department at FDF and MSI judge, said: “The culmination of the teams’ efforts was put forth to us judges to identify which ideas truly identified and addressed the challenges against strong family cohesion. For us, the winning teams stood out because of the passion and innovation reflected in their skills and projects; they were determined to take unique approaches to a topic that is so dear and near to the UAE. “
Speaking to the judges involved in the selection process for the top 10, Saeed AlNofeli, Director at IN5 and MSI judge, said: “I thought it was brilliant to view first-hand creative and social ideas, and it did give me real optimism about the businesses. As a parent, the family cohesion category stood out to me and warmed my heart. I was heartened by the quality presented by the teams, and it was fantastic to be part of it. I truly appreciate this important initiative by the government as well as the solid foundation it is setting for start-ups to be encouraged and for ideas to be implemented and monetised in the future.”
The 10 selected projects are:
- Storically – a platform that creates personalized books from parents to their children to enrich storytelling, preserve personal histories, and enhance engagement.
- Hakawaty – aims to enhance child autonomy and confidence through highly interactive online storytelling sessions, enabling parents to build stronger emotional bond with their children
- Tanfees – a mobile application connecting married couples with psychologists and marriage experts
- Kidz Unplugged – a handmade toolkit containing materials like sliding chalkboards and different toys for expressive art, aimed at steering children away from their electronic devices and into engaging with their family
- Al Naqsh – a database with online and physical books with the ability to filter them based on children’s preferences, giving parents the ability to read with their children more effectively
- Taskeen – which works to enhance pre-marital and life skills for newly married couples, to decrease the probability of conflict and divorce
- Generation Unpack – which provides monthly or on-request dialogue packs teaching family members different techniques of conversation to resolve disputes based on their different characteristics – helping them break cycles of conflict
- The Family Lounge – which works to overcome the communication gap between children and parents through a set of activities and conducting online sessions
- Fitness Experts – a series of physical family exercises and activities designed to build a strong bond between family and promote a healthy lifestyle
- Our Home Game – providing customized games for kids to engage with parents, aimed at bridging the communication gap through different methods of activities based on gender, age and preference