The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), a philanthropic foundation based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched “The Global Maker Challenge”, for leading manufacturers, start-ups and entrepreneurs, governments, UN agencies and philanthropists, academia and researchers, to form a community dedicated to spreading global prosperity through the art of ‘making’.

The eight UN entities (the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); UNESCO-UNEVOC International Center; the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat); the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR); the World Food Programme) have partnered with the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity.

MBRGI, launched in 2015 defines its work under five pillars: humanitarian aid and relief; healthcare and disease control; spreading education and knowledge; innovation and entrepreneurship and empowering communities. The foundation believes that access to the innovation paves the way to building prosperity.

The Global Maker Challenge is an online open-innovation platform that offers an opportunity for ‘makers’ and innovators to connect and collaborate, wherever they are in the world, to solve real-world problems affecting people’s lives.

The challenge is vertically divided into 4 themes, Sustainable Energy, Digital Divide and Digital Literacy, Rural Transformation and Zero Hunger and Sustainable Cities.

This challenge will award winners with prizes of value up to USD 1,000,000 in prizes. Within the four themes they are looking for solutions to solve real world problems identified as priority topics by MIT Solve in collaboration with various UN Agencies and Funds.

To do so, the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity is seeking applications from innovators and makers around the world that will:

• Provide equitable and affordable access to healthy, low carbon food in cities
• Create more efficient supply chains and reduce food loss and waste
• Reduce hunger, malnutrition, and food related illnesses in urban areas

The challenges for cohort 2 are:

• Sustainable and Healthy Food for All
• Innovation for Inclusive Trade
• Innovation for Peace and Justice
• Climate Change

These organisations have developed four themes surrounding major challenges faced by the least developed and developing countries. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Solve is working with the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity to bring together problem-solvers and innovators to work with stakeholders and technical experts to design and manage each challenge.

This challenge is one of two programs facilitated through the Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity. The Initiative was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in honor of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai, for his commitment in transforming the United Arab Emirates.

Applicants are invited to enter their solutions to the challenges through their easy online application process. The four Challenge Winners will gain valuable recognition, global exposure, and mentorship if successful.

The rapid pace of urbanization has dramatically shifted how they approach food systems globally. In 1900, only two percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas. Today, it is over half of the global population, and over the next 30 years, that proportion is expected to increase to about two thirds.

While cities offer great potential for economic, cultural, and societal development, cities in particular face a host of challenges in sustainably feeding their communities, including lengthy supply chains, inadequate infrastructure and waste management systems, and less opportunities for households to produce their own food.

By 2050, global food systems will need to sustainably and nutritiously feed nearly 10 billion people, and 80 percent of the world’s food will be consumed within urban areas. The challenge to ensure that everyone in the world can feed themselves has become intertwined with concerns around which foods they are consuming, where they are eating them, and how they are grown, processed, and delivered.

Further, as food systems contribute to the increasing incidences of non-communicable and food-borne diseases and represent one of the world’s largest employers and primary drivers of climate change, these issues have far-reaching consequences on people’s nutrition and health, the potential to create viable jobs and livelihoods, and the future sustainability of their planet.

The Global Maker Challenge is an online open-innovation platform that offers an opportunity for ‘makers’ and innovators to connect and collaborate, wherever they are in the world, to solve real-world problems affecting people’s lives.

Leveraging manufacturing innovation to provide viable and deployable solutions for the world’s most pressing issues, it invites world-leading manufacturers and organisations to adopt challenges, provide mentorship, and help solve real-world problems.

Benefits

The Global Maker Challenge will award winners with prizes of value up to USD 1,000,000 in prizes.

Scoring Criteria

• Alignment: The solution addresses the challenge that has been set forth.
• Potential for Impact: The planned implementation of the solution has the potential to impact lives.
• Scalability: The solution can be grown and scaled to affect the lives of more people.
• Innovative Approach: This is a new technology, a new application of a technology, a new business model, or a new process for solving the challenge.
• Feasibility: It is feasible to implement the solution, and the team has a plan for the solution to sustain itself financially.

For more information, visit https://makingprosperity.com/all-cohorts