Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for global prosperity and UN-Habitat launch the decade of action challenge to promote sustainable urbanisation

• The initiative will harness the power of entrepreneurship, technology and collaboration to make cities across the world more sustainable and inclusive
• The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deploy socially responsible and market-driven solutions through the networks of the United Nation’s premier organization for sustainable urbanization - UN-Habitat
• The partnership was announced at The Global Prosperity Conference, held on November 24, 2021 in Dubai, as part of the six-day GMIS Week at EXPO’s Dubai Exhibition Centre

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity (MBR Initiative) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) today announced the launch of the ‘Decade of Action Challenge’, to promote sustainable and inclusive urbanisation through innovative solutions, partnerships and transformative ideas.

The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support entrepreneurs and startups develop impactful solutions to address the key challenges of urbanisation and advance equitable economic development in cities, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The ten-year partnership was born as a result of the shared vision and long-standing association between the two organisations to make cities more prosperous while creating a global innovation ecosystem of social impact leaders made up of UN entities, governments, entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, academia and private sector.

The Partnership was announced by Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, followed by an MoU signed between Erfan Ali, UN-Habitat’s Regional Director for the Arab States and Namir Hourani, Managing Director of GMIS Head of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit Organising Committee, during the Global Prosperity Conference at EXPO’s Dubai Exhibition Centre on November 24, 2021.

In a video message, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif emphasized that: “While rapid urbanisation has transformed cities into engines of economic growth, they also present significant human development challenges, including pollution, poverty, income inequality and infrastructure development. Combatting the challenges of urbanisation and generating opportunities for prosperity requires bold ideas, cross-border and cross sector partnerships.  

Reinforcing the importance of stimulating inclusive economic progress in cities, each cohort of the Decade of Action Challenge will operate in two-year cycles for a total of five cohorts to encourage startups and entrepreneurs to submit innovative solutions. Both the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity and UN-Habitat will support the startups in designing and developing market-driven solutions that will be implemented in urban centres across the world through UN-Habitat’s global and country level networks.

Badr Al-Olama, Head of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit Organising Committee, said: “Digital innovation along with robust policymaking is essential to accelerate sustainable urbanisation and create new opportunities for shared prosperity. Advances in digital technology are rapidly pushing the boundaries of socio-economic development, providing governments, businesses and international organisations with innovative tools to build resilient communities. The partnership between UN-Habit and the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity is a significant step towards building innovative cities of the future, as the world prepares for unprecedented levels of urbanisation over the next decade. I am delighted to launch the Decade of Action with UN-Habitat, and pull in entrepreneurial talent from around the world to help cities effectively respond to economic shocks, climate change, and improve competitiveness.”

The ten-year partnership was announced at the end of a session titled ‘The Decade of Action: A Countdown to Prosperity’ that examined the role of public private partnerships, knowledge-sharing initiatives, and financing solutions to identify, nurture and scale impact-driven businesses. In attendance was Busi Mabuza, Chair of the Board at the Industrial Development Corporation for South Africa, Fadi Ghandour, Executive Chairman of Wamda, Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, CEO of National Agency for Information Society (ANSI), Vilas S. Dhar, President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.

The Global Prosperity Conference was held during the six-day GMIS Week from November 22-27 at EXPO’s Dubai Exhibition Centre, featuring over 250 global speakers. The GMIS Week will include a Global Prosperity Conference run by the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity and The Green Chain Conference, an Alternative & Renewable Energy Conference –– on November 24. The GMIS Week will also host country-focused conferences in partnership with the United Kingdom, Australia and Italy on November 24 & 25. Throughout the week, the Summit is also running an exhibition to highlight the UAE government’s ‘Make it in the Emirates’ campaign, a first-of-its-kind initiative to encourage local and international investors, developers and innovators to benefit from the facilities and incentives offered by the country’s industrial sector.

Participants can register to attend the GMIS Week at https://gmisummit.com/registration 

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About UN-Habitat

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the United Nations agency aimed at improving life for everyone in cities and towns across the world. It has programmes in over 90 countries that support people in cities and communities making them inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

About the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity:

A gift from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai, to the world – The Mohammed bin Rashid (MBR) Initiative for Global Prosperity is an ambitious and impactful worldwide extension of the UAE’s own transformational vision, built on four core values: resilience, community, harmony, and dignity. It combines the Global Maker Challenge – an online open-innovation platform for ‘makers’ and innovators to solve specific real-world challenges, and the Global Prosperity Award – a prestigious global accolade that recognises and rewards social innovation brought by manufacturing for the betterment of humanity. The Initiative brings together companies, start-ups and entrepreneurs, governments and NGOs to create an ecosystem designed to enable new businesses to be built, new jobs to be created, and new solutions to be unlocked in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

To learn more, please visit www.makingprosperity.com  

Press Contact: 
Reethu Thachil
Head of PR and Communications
EYESOME X, Press Office for:
Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit
Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity
+971 58 847 6870/ press@gmisummit.com 

© Press Release 2021