As part of its commitment to implement the Innovation Attraction Programme (IAP) launched by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline & Group, Dubai SME, the agency of Dubai Economy mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), to share knowledge and co-operate on encouraging innovation, local entrepreneurship, and economic development.
The MoU was signed recently in the presence of Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME, and Ahmad Alkhallafi, Managing Director of HPE UAE.
The Innovation Attraction Programme seeks to enhance the emirate’s position as a global hub for innovative technologies and solutions. The programme, designed and implemented by Dubai SME, aims to attract more than 25,000 innovative and emerging companies from around the world and focuses on innovative solutions in six major sectors including space, transportation and mobility, energy efficiency, medicine and health, education, and information technology.
The partnership with HPE will eventually enable Dubai SME to refer potential and innovative companies to the ‘HPE Digital Life Garage’ as well as extend the benefits of HPE’s expertise and facilities to promising tech enterprises. HPE, in turn, will leverage IAP to attract and promote emerging technology companies and innovative SMEs.
As part of the MoU HPE Middle East will provide SMEs with space and time at the HPE Digital Life Garage’s Digital Life Lab, allowing them to develop, test-bed and demonstrate specific models or solutions that meet customer requirements. HPE will also link SMEs in Dubai with global start-ups with similar aspirations and enable them to benefit from a network of universities and research centres around the world.
