Started by the Dubai Future Foundation, the Dubai Future Accelerator (DFA) program is a unique Government-supported accelerator. It allows a select few cutting edge entrepreneurs to develop innovative technologies in partnership with the Dubai Government. This year marks the third cohort for the program and sees forty-six companies from around the world take part. We are proud to acknowledge that from more than one thousand applicants, our parent company OCO Global was invited to participate in this year’s program.
In Dubai, approximately 95% of all establishments are classified as SME, accounting for 42% of the workforce. SMEs are accountable for an estimated 40% of Dubai’s total economy. However, a major barrier to the growth of innovative SMEs is the access to capital investment. OCO Global has teamed up with the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) to develop an intelligent business rating system to assess and score SME’s based on financial and non-financial parameters, to enhance SME’s credibility and increase access to finance by 100% by 2021.
OCO Global has already established themselves as an innovator in the field. It has been providing economic development solutions for more than 15 years to leading organisations such as the Department of International Trade (UK), JETRO, Invest Hong Kong, Bahrain EDB, Enterprise Florida, UNCTAD and WAIPA. OCO’s latest business platform, Velociti, was released in 2015 and is a world-leading system that creates rating and scoring systems for FDI and trade in a global marketplace, assisting investment and trade agencies across the world. The Velociti team hope to use their unique system as a structure for creating a one of a kind business rating system for the DFA.
The DFA program is unlike any other in the world. It allows some of the greatest minds and technologies to work in tandem with the Dubai Government entities. The program not only allows participants to develop and implement their ideas but also gives them the opportunity to create history by molding the future of the city.
If you would like to learn more about the program please visit the Dubai Future Accelerator website.