Qatar Assistive Technology Centre (Mada) has officially launched its innovation programme, which is designed to facilitate private sector innovation, entrepreneurship and promotion of international best practices within the field of assistive technology (AT) and accessibility in Qatar through a combination of grant programmes.
The initiative is in line with its “mission to support community initiatives and help create an accessible, inclusive society”, according to a statement.
The programme will provide a mechanism and bring relevant innovative assistive technology products and services to the local market, while simultaneously supporting potential local and international innovators interested in developing assistive technology solutions for the Arab market. To achieve this, Mada has introduced a combination of grant programmes to inspire innovators, including the Mada Award, Entrepreneur Grant and Mada Direct Grant.
“We are committed to assisting persons with disabilities (PWD) and utilising the power of information and communications technology (ICT) to enable them to live their best, independent life. As such, we have launched this opportunity not only to support Qatar’s PWD community but also the innovator and entrepreneur community,” Maha al-Mansouri, CEO, Mada, said, adding: “We encourage anyone with ideas, big or small, to
approach us and work with us.
“Our aim is to create an environment of innovation and to work with incubation centres to bring these ideas and innovations to life.”
Applicants can apply directly to Mada for the innovation programme by submitting an application and supporting documents, which they can acquire from Mada, to [email protected]
The Mada team at the launch event.
