The Authority of Social Contribution, Ma’an, today announced the ten winning teams in the third cycle of the Ma’an Social Incubator programme.

Designed to strengthen family interactions and create stronger emotional bonding between family members in Abu Dhabi, this cycle received 338 applications.

The 10 selected teams are made up of enthusiastic and talented social entrepreneurs from 13 countries, based here in Abu Dhabi including the UAE, India, Greece, the United Kingdom, the USA and Russia.

Following the success of its pilot programme centred around bettering the lives of People of Determination in Abu Dhabi, and its second cycle which focused on improving mental wellbeing in Abu Dhabi, Ma’an launched the third cycle in July under the theme of "Family Cohesion".

The findings from the 2018 Better Life Index survey indicated that on the topic of strong social relations and family communication in Abu Dhabi, 84 per cent of respondents said they were part of a strong support network compared to the average rate of 89 per cent from OECD countries.

The Ma’an Social Incubator programme is the first-of-its-kind in the region, with each of the ten winning teams eligible to receive funding from Ma’an, who will invest more than AED2 million in total in this cycle.

Ma’an will guide the teams through a 90-day training programme to develop their innovative and original ideas into business ventures.

Director-General of Ma’an, Salama Al Ameemi said, "Family is the foundation of every community. To contribute to a healthy society, we must ensure that we begin by promoting healthy and solid family ties that will inspire and enable our community members to collaborate to overcome other pressing social challenges."

Dr. Yousef Al Hammadi, Acting Executive Director, Knowledge and Entrepreneurship Sector at ECA and MSI judge, said, "The ideas presented to us were to tackle problems surrounding young children as well as parents and elderly who expressed some sort of lack of communication and emotional gaps between one another."

Muneera Al Ali, Director of Studies and Research Department at FDF and MSI judge, said, "The culmination of the teams’ efforts was put forth to us judges to identify which ideas truly identified and addressed the challenges against strong family cohesion."

Speaking to the judges involved in the selection process for the top 10, Saeed AlNofeli, Director at IN5 and MSI judge, said, "I thought it was brilliant to view first-hand creative and social ideas, and it did give me real optimism about the businesses."

The 10 selected projects are: Storically – a platform that creates personalised books from parents to their children to enrich storytelling, preserve personal histories, and enhance engagement.

Hakawaty – enhances child autonomy and confidence through highly interactive online storytelling sessions, enabling stronger emotional bonding between parents and children.

Tanfees – a mobile application connecting married couples with psychologists and marriage experts Kidz Unplugged – a handmade toolkit containing materials like sliding chalkboards and different toys for expressive art, aimed at steering children away from their electronic devices.

Al Naqsh – a database with online and physical books with the ability to filter them based on children’s preferences, allowing parents to read with their children more effectively.

Taskeen – which works to enhance pre-marital and life skills for newly married couples, to decrease the probability of conflict and divorce.

Generation Unpack – which provides monthly or on-request dialogue packs teaching family members different techniques of conversation to resolve disputes.

The Family Lounge – which works to overcome the communication gap between children and parents through a set of activities and online sessions.

Fitness Experts – a series of physical family exercises and activities designed to build a strong bond between families and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Our Home Game – providing customised games for kids to engage with parents, aimed at bridging the communication gap.

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