The UAE Space Agency conducted a strategic workshop on the Global Space Industry Accelerator (GSIA) to identify key industry challenges that can be addressed through space and shed light on the status of intellectual property (IP) in the sector. As part of the UAE Innovation Month, the workshop brought together leaders from the local entrepreneurship ecosystem, academia, and public and private sectors at Krypto Labs in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, on the 26th of February. 

During the workshop, the UAE Space Agency unveiled the details of the GSIA, which is the first of its kind in the region. Falling under the umbrella of the National Space Investment Promotion Plan, the GSIA aims to position the UAE as a pioneering country in the space industry through innovation. It also seeks to nurture a sustainable UAE space industry, foster a healthy national ecosystem through innovation and R&D, and contribute to a diversified and knowledge-based national economy. 

The GSIA has four key components. Firstly, it will launch a specialized space accelerator that supports the growth of established space industry startups and maximizes their success rate through enabling technology or cross-sectoral applications. Secondly, the GSIA will support building a venture builder for the establishment of four startups and accelerate their commercialization potential. Thirdly, it will establish an investment fund that joins a syndicate of investors and VCs to invest in established startups and support the growth potential of entrepreneurs and innovators. The fourth component is focused on intellectual property, which is to identify which IPs are space-related and can be commercialized, to build fruitful technologies.

Commenting on the strategic GSIA workshop, Naser Al Rashedi, Director of National Space Policy and Regulation at the UAE Space Agency, and Program Director of the GSIA, said, “The UAE Space Agency launched the National Space Investment Promotion Plan earlier last year to increase domestic and foreign investments in the UAE’s pioneering space sector. The plan aims to assist in realizing the vision and goals set by the UAE Centennial 2071, which strives to position the UAE as the world’s leading nation in the economic, social, and environmental fields.” 

“The GSIA is one of the first initiatives that seek to realize the goals set by UAE Centennial Plan and the strategy for the UAE’s Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), which collectively aim to position the UAE as a pioneering country on the global innovation map. It strives to achieve this by nurturing innovation among youth, innovators, individual entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and business startups, as the country transitions into a sustainable and knowledge-based economy.”

 “We aim to sustain the space sector’s role in impacting other industries. We have developed a framework to transform ideas into projects and businesses that are sustainable and can contribute to the UAE’s economy. We see great potential and value in the R&D sector who have many IPs that can be collected and identified for monetization. If we work together to identify challenges within the industry, we can help entrepreneurs identify them and thus build key solutions that can assist in contributing to an innovation-based and ideation-based economy under the UAE’s strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

“The GSIA aligns with our strategic goals to support scientific research and develop the national space exploration capabilities towards sustainability that is unmatched in the region. Sustainability and partnership are the two main factors that can enable the growth and contribution of space technologies into other industries. Sustainability can be viewed through three dimensions. Firstly, how space can contribute to the sustainability of Earth; secondly, how it can sustain the space environment; and thirdly, how it can contribute to sustaining businesses, and this what we are trying to do through the GSIA. Partnership is the key to achieving this sustainability,” he added.  

As part of the strategic workshop, Anas Zeineddine, Executive Director of Krypto Labs, said, “We are proud to be working alongside the UAE Space Agency across numerous initiatives and space-related events that we hold around the year. Our longstanding partnership reflects Krypto Labs’ keenness in promoting innovation within the UAE’s thriving entrepreneurial community by solidifying the power of private and public sector partnerships.”

He added, “The GSIA initiative acts as a cornerstone for fostering the local ecosystem with groundbreaking startups that would disrupt the space industry and promote investment within the sector. At Krypto Labs, we are preparing and equipping the youth with the opportunities to lead the region’s space sector, and we are doing this by transforming their innovative and abstract ideas into feasible solutions that can generate impact on a large scale.”

Earlier this year, the UAE Space Agency, in collaboration with Krypto Labs, announced the UAE NewSpace Innovation Program, which is first of its kind program locally and regionally focusing on the private spaceflight industry. The UAE NewSpace Innovation Program is accepting applications up to the 31st of March 2020 online: https://kryptolabs.com/en/newspace.

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