The Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity Monday announced that it would host the Global Prosperity Conference to explore the role of start-ups, disruptive business models, and digital innovations to support the advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and drive global good, WAM reports.
Reinforcing the importance of technology as a key tool for positive social change, the conference will gather policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs, academia and members of UN agencies to create a global innovation ecosystem where organisations build transformational ideas, lasting partnerships and market-driven solutions to tackle the world’s most pressing socio-economic and environmental challenges.
Scheduled for 24th November, 2021, as part of the six-day Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit Week (GMIS Week), the conference is a testament to the evolution of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity, launched as a legacy initiative of the first edition of GMIS (#GMIS2017) to form a community of innovators and entrepreneurs dedicated to accelerating societal progress worldwide.
Vilas S. Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, said, “Technology is both a platform and tool to make the world a better place. However, for technology to effectively drive societal progress across developed and developing economies, we need shared commitments and action within the business, policy and innovation communities. The conference is an unparalleled opportunity to develop and promote the next big ideas to shape a resilient future. As countries emerge from the throes of a pandemic, we must leverage the conferences’ convening power to drive lasting changes for the planet and people.”
The conference agenda will consist of keynotes and panel discussions and will spotlight the importance of developing a collaborative and progressive ecosystem that drives impact, advances the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promotes global good.
The conference will organise a panel discussion examining how impact investing, an emerging investment approach that is creating financial returns and societal progress can contribute to the advancement of the UN SDGs, such as ending global poverty, combating climate change and improving access to clean energy. With particular emphasis on public-private partnerships, a dedicated session will explore how enabling cross-sectoral collaboration, knowledge exchange and shared financing initiatives are essential to identify, nurture and scale impact-driven businesses.
Senior policymakers and industry leaders speaking at the conference include Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth of the UAE; Maimunah Mohammed Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat; Dr. Raphael Nagel, Founder and Chairman of the Abraham Business Circle; Ahmed Taleb Ali Al Shamsi, CEO of Emirates Foundation; Sarah Pirzada Usmani, Managing Director and Head of Sustainable, Asset and Project Finance at the First Abu Dhabi Bank; Erfan Ali, Regional Director for UN-Habitat for the Arab Region; Sonia Weymuller, Founding Partner of Venture Souq; Andrei Telenkov, CEO of Ntech Labs, Roberto Croci, Managing Director of Microsoft for Startups, Middle East, Turkey and Pakistan, and Jida Itani, Chief Operating Officer for Hub 71, and David Rosenberg, CEO of Aerofarms.
Badr Al-Olama, Head of the GMIS Organising Committee, said, “The conference will also offer a unique opportunity to learn from the UAE’s success as a global technology and sustainability hub, and the country’s vision for spreading prosperity. With a strong line-up of speakers, the Global Prosperity Conference is exactly what the world needs right now to drive social change and promote disruptive innovation.”
The conference will also organise discussions on mentorship programmes that will focus on the mentor-mentee relationship and its importance in helping start-ups improve their access to industry and technology expertise that can tangibly impact financial returns. In addition, industry experts and policymakers will lead conversations around the role of accelerator programmes in mobilising stakeholders worldwide to help transform early-stage businesses into profitable global enterprises and turn social innovations into commercial solutions.
Other confirmed speakers include Beau Seil, Partner at Patamar Capital; Busi Mabuza, Chair of the Board at the Industrial Development Corporation, South Africa; Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, CEO of National Agency for Information Society (ANSI); Brune Maria Braga, Head of Partnerships for MIT Solve; Michael Cottle, Vice President of at NextBillion.ai, and Vilas Dhar.
Bernhard Kowatsch, Head of the World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator for the United Nations World Food Programme, said, “We are at a point where humanitarian and societal needs require more than single-lens solutions. At the World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator, we have been working with multiple organizations, from the private and public sectors, to support start-ups and scaling innovations to make a real impact. Together we address global hunger and other Sustainable Development Goals, such as access to vaccines, climate-smart strategies, gender equality, economic inclusion, and creating operating efficiencies across the sector. Join us in this opportunity to connect and collaborate to build coherent solutions for a more resilient world.”
The conference will be held alongside GMIS Week, which will feature over 200 speakers from all over the world. The GMIS Week includes the two-day #GMIS2021 Summit on 22nd and 23rd November, an Alternative and Renewable Energy Conference – The Green Chain Conference, on 24th November, and country-focused sessions in partnership with the United Kingdom, Australia and Italy. The event will also run a six-day manufacturing and advanced technology exhibition to showcase some of the UAE’s most innovative capabilities.
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