EGA announces completion of its Ramp-Up programme

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has announced the successful completion of the mentorship phase of EGA Ramp-Up, a programme that supports promising entrepreneurs to maximise their economic, social or environmental impact in line with the Entrepreneurial Nation strategy 2031.

Launched in November last year under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy, EGA Ramp-Up focuses on entrepreneurs whose business ideas are based on applying science and technology to progress sustainability.

The programme received hundreds of applications from aspiring UAE-based entrepreneurs who engaged in online courses on practical entrepreneurship led by C3 – Companies Creating Change.

After the evaluation, eight innovative startups were selected to participate in the Investor Pitch Day at EGA's headquarters in Al Taweelah. The diverse group of young founders representing businesses from growing sectors presented their innovative business ideas to a distinguished judging panel. The finalist startups included Circa Biotech, FortyGuard, MindTales, Nadeera, Olive Gaea, SecuriCIP, Solumar, and Verofax.

The judging panel selected Solumar, FortyGuard and Verofax in first, second and third place, respectively.

Abdulnasser bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said, "Our goal with EGA Ramp-Up is to contribute further to the UAE's economic diversification and development by supporting innovative young entrepreneurs to launch their impact-driven and sustainability-focused businesses. We hope our support will enable these companies to thrive and that some may even become EGA suppliers, further increasing our local procurement and supporting 'Make it in the Emirates' and achieving the UAE's Operation 300bn industrial growth strategy."

As part of the Entrepreneurial Nation strategy, EGA Ramp-Up supports achieving the Centennial 2071 goal of increasing entrepreneurship in the UAE.

"These startups represent some of the most promising talent in the UAE, and C3 is thrilled to have partnered with EGA to equip them with the tools needed to accelerate their businesses. Through our tailored mentorship programme, we have nurtured their growth trajectory, enabling them to create lasting impact," said Kevin Holliday, Managing Director of C3 - Companies Creating Change.

EGA is launching pilot projects with some finalists to increase local procurement further and support the growth of promising local businesses.

EGA will launch the next round of EGA Ramp-Up in Q4 2023.