Ma’an Social Incubator Program 2021

MAAN Social Incubator

The Ma’an Social Incubator (MSI) is a social innovation program and one of the five pillars of Ma’an that brings together individuals and organizations, enabling them to create innovative solutions to social challenges.

The MSI will focus on encouraging social innovation and entrepreneurship in competitive incubation cycles. The theme of the Fifth cohort of the Ma’an’s Social Incubator (MSI) will focus on Senior Citizens and Residents.

Applications are now open for social entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions to enhance the lives of seniors within Abu Dhabi following the areas of inclusion, capability building, economic empowerment and protection.

“We have adopted the National Policy for Senior Emiratis to improve the quality of their lives and ensure their active and ongoing participation within the UAE community.”

– Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

 GENERAL INFORMATION

• All applicants need to be 18 years or older
• Team must operate or have a presence in Abu Dhabi
• Team must have a minimum of 2 members
• If the applicants are not UAE residents, they must be able to obtain a visit visa at their own cost
• Kindly adhere to the number of slides in the pitching template
• All questions are mandatory to answer
• Please note that the majority of the program will take place in English

PROGRAM OFFERING

All 10 selected startups will be offered:

• • Mentorship & coaching: Ma’an will provide in house general mentorship and facilitate external topic expertise mentoring.
  • Workshops & Training: Specialized Workshops run by field experts.
  • Market & Network Access: Ma’an will facilitate access to market for MVP testing and potential POCs.
  • Access to investors: Ma’an will facilitate and assist in ensuring access to potential investors.
  • Office space: Office space will be granted for 1 year under Ma’an main offices.
  • Milestone Funding: Grants will be based on milestone achievements which will be clearly highlighted if selected.

KEY CHALLENGED TO BE ADDRESSED

Inclusion and Activation.

• Limited interaction and isolation
• Seniors feel communication between generations is weak and wish to strengthen them to pass on their knowledge and wisdom.
• Weak and limited social networks for seniors.
• Lack of forums to pass on traditions, Seniors want ways to teach the younger generation important values and traditions.
• Usual confinement to household with limited outgoing activities.

Capability Building

• Discomfort in using digital platforms
• Social media multi-purpose usage highest among ages 18 to 21, while 45–65 tend to use mostly to access news.
• Digital technology can be difficult for many seniors to navigate and utilize, potentially leading to mental and emotional distress.
• Higher percentage of services/products have switched to online platforms, posing difficulty for seniors.
• Accessibility
• Lack of access and availability of some specialist support services.

Economic Empowerment

• Limited roles available after retirement
• Seniors community integration significantly declines post retirement.
• Retirees feel their vast array of expertise and knowledge is left as an untapped resource.
• 45% of Emiratis and 36% of non-Emiratis over 70 years old report income difficulty.

For Incubator enquiries: incubator@maan.gov.ae