Startups worldwide with groundbreaking ideas for conserving water in agriculture and promoting animal health can now compete for a prize of Dh500,000 in Sharjah.
The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) has launched the sixth edition of the Access Sharjah Challenge (ASC), inviting startups to apply through their website before September 5, 2024.
This year’s ASC focuses on two key areas: AgriTech and Live Health. The Department of Agriculture and Livestock, in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, is supporting Sheraa in this initiative. The competition aims to discover practical and implementable solutions that can address challenges in agriculture and livestock health.
Applicants must present ready-to-use models and commit to establishing their companies to be shortlisted. The top 10 ideas will receive intensive training to refine their concepts into viable projects. ASC 2024 also provides mentorship to support startups during their growth phase, focusing on long-term economic and environmental sustainability.
Sara Al Nuaimi, CEO of Sheraa, emphasized ASC 2024’s mission to position Sharjah as a global hub for AgriTech and livestock health. She highlighted the importance of leveraging modern technology to enhance agricultural production, achieve self-sufficiency, and address water scarcity driven by climate change and population growth.
Dr. Khalifa Musabah Al Tunaiji, chairman of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock in Sharjah, underscored the significance of ASC in providing sustainable solutions to the sector’s challenges. He mentioned the development of the ‘Sharjah-1’ wheat strain as an example of the emirate’s advances in sustainable farming. This wheat variety, developed at Mleiha Farm’s biotechnology laboratories, is climate-resilient, water-efficient, highly productive, and nutritionally rich.
The Dh500,000 prize will be divided equally between the winners of the AgriTech and Live Health tracks, giving startups the financial boost and support they need to turn their innovative ideas into reality.
