United Arab Emirates: Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, announced the successful completion of the mentorship phase of EGA Ramp-Up, a programme that supports promising entrepreneurs to maximise their economic, social or environmental impact in line with the Entrepreneurial Nation strategy 2031.

Launched in November last year under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy, EGA Ramp-Up focuses on entrepreneurs whose business ideas are based on application of science and technology to progress sustainability.

The programme received hundreds of applications from aspiring UAE-based entrepreneurs who engaged in a series of online courses on effective entrepreneurship led by C3 – Companies Creating Change.

Following the evaluation process, eight innovative startups were selected to take part in the Investor Pitch Day at EGA’s headquarters in Al Taweelah. The diverse group of young founders representing business hailing from growing sectors presented their innovative businesses ideas to a distinguished judging panel. The finalist startups included Circa Biotech, FortyGuard, MindTales, Nadeera, Olive Gaea, SecuriCIP, Solumar, and Verofax.

The judging panel selected Solumar, FortyGuard and Verofax in the first, second and third place respectively. 

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Our goal with EGA Ramp-Up is to make a further contribution to the UAE’s economic diversification and development by supporting innovative young entrepreneurs to launch their impact-driven and sustainability-focused businesses. We hope our support will enable these companies to thrive, and that some may even go on to become EGA suppliers, further increasing our local procurement and supporting Make it in the Emirates and the achievement of the UAE’s Operation 300bn industrial growth strategy.”

As part of the Entrepreneurial Nation strategy, EGA Ramp-Up supports the achievement of the Centennial 2071 goal of increasing entrepreneurship in the UAE.

“These startups represent some of the most promising talent in the UAE, and C3 is thrilled to have partnered with EGA to equip them with the tools needed to accelerate their businesses. Through our tailored mentorship programme, we have nurtured their growth trajectory, enabling them to create lasting impact,” said Kevin Holliday, Managing Director of C3 - Companies Creating Change.

EGA is launching pilot projects with some of finalists to further increase local procurement and support the growth of promising local businesses.

EGA made a direct, indirect and induced contribution of some $7.19 billion in 2022, supporting almost 48,000 jobs.

EGA spends around $1.7 billion on goods and services from UAE companies each year, some 45 per cent of the company’s total global procurement spend.

EGA will launch the next round of EGA Ramp-Up in Q4 2023.

For more information about the EGA Ramp-Up Programme, please visit www.ega.ae/en/ramp-up.

Contacts at EGA:
Simon Buerk
sbuerk@ega.ae

About EGA

Since 1975, when it was founded as Dubai Aluminium by His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Global Aluminium has been innovating aluminium to make modern life possible.

Today EGA is the world’s biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil and gas industry.

EGA is equally-owned by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the largest company jointly owned by the two Emirates.

EGA is an integrated aluminium producer, with operations from bauxite mining to the production of cast primary aluminium. EGA operates aluminium smelters in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah, an alumina refinery in Al Taweelah and a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in the Republic of Guinea.

EGA’s aluminium is the second largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas. In 2022, EGA sold 2.72 million tonnes of cast metal. EGA is the only UAE producer and makes the UAE the fifth largest aluminium producing nation in the world.

EGA has more than 400 customers in over 50 countries. In 2022, value-added products accounted for 78 per cent of EGA’s cast metal sales.

EGA’s aluminium is primarily used in the construction, automotive, packaging, aerospace and electronics industries.

Around 10 per cent of EGA’s aluminium production is sold in the UAE to around 26 downstream aluminium companies that make products with EGA’s aluminium. The growing broader aluminium sector in the UAE supports almost 48,000 jobs. EGA itself employs around 6,800 of these people including more than 1,200 UAE Nationals.

EGA has focused on technology development for over 30 years. EGA has used its own technology for every smelter expansion since the 1990s and has retrofitted all its older production lines. In 2016 EGA became the first UAE industrial company to licence its core industrial process technology internationally.

As a corporate citizen of the UAE, EGA aspires in all its operations to be measured amongst the world’s leading metals and mining companies in meeting its environmental and social responsibilities. In 2017, EGA became the first Middle East headquartered company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, a global programme to foster greater sustainability and transparency in the aluminium industry. In 2019, EGA’s Al Taweelah site became the first in the Middle East to receive certification from ASI for its sustainability practices and performance. EGA’s Jebel Ali site was certified in 2021. EGA’s bauxite mining subsidiary, Guinea Alumina Corporation, achieved the first ASI certification in Guinea in 2023. Al Taweelah alumina refinery was certified later in 2023, with the result that EGA now has all of its global operations certified to the aluminium industry’s internationally recognised standard for environmental and social performance and governance.

In 2021, EGA began production of CelestiAL solar aluminium, produced with solar power from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park on the outskirts of Dubai. EGA is the first company in the world to make aluminium commercially using the power of the sun. 

EGA was formed in 2014 through the merger of Dubai Aluminium and Emirates Aluminium.

EGA’s Jebel Ali aluminium smelter began production as DUBAL in 1979. At almost five square kilometres, this site is five times bigger than Dubai Mall.

EMAL started production in 2009 and its Al Taweelah aluminium smelter was the largest single-site aluminium smelter in the world when completed. EGA’s Al Taweelah site is five times bigger than Al Maryah Island at six square kilometres.

EGA has its own power stations at both sites, producing electricity to meet its needs. EGA’s electricity generation capacity is 6,474 megawatts, making EGA the third largest electricity generator in the UAE after the Dubai and Abu Dhabi utilities. EGA also produces water through desalination units at its power plants.

EGA began production at Al Taweelah alumina refinery in April 2019. EGA’s alumina refinery is the first in the UAE and only the second in the Middle East. The project reduces the UAE’s dependence on imported alumina and supplies over 45 per cent of EGA’s needs.

Bauxite exports from Guinea Alumina Corporation, EGA’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Guinea, began in August 2019. The GAC project was one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in over 40 years.

For more information on EGA please visit www.ega.ae

About C3

At C3, we remain dedicated to empowering aspiring change-makers by propelling their social and environmental impact. Over the past decade, our extensive network of over 4,000 experts, trainers, and more than 150 venture capital firms has played a pivotal role in assisting a vibrant community of 2,500 startups in reaching new heights. Our commitment to sustainability and impact has earned us international recognition, including a UN Sustainable Development Goals Pioneer Award, the Social Enterprise Mark from Social Enterprise Mark CIC (the global certification authority for social enterprises), two Global Sustainability Awards, and the distinction of being named overall winners across all categories.

To learn more about our work, please visit wegrowwithc3.com.