Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) has partnered with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to launch the MIT DesignX Dubai Accelerator. This move marks MIT’s first accelerator in the region, which is designed to scale sustainability and cleantech startups that build solutions for water, climate change, food security, and energy challenges.

“This initiative will provide an ideal platform for cutting-edge projects to flourish, showcasing MIT's unwavering dedication to addressing global challenges through innovation and entrepreneurship,” Hashim Sarkis, Dean of the School of Architecture & Planning at MIT, tells StartupScene. “By granting teams access to MIT's accomplished faculty, mentors, and resources, we aim to foster groundbreaking solutions for a more sustainable future.”

Selected startups will benefit from MIT’s growing network of mentors, investors, and corporate partners, in order to devise efficient and sustainable solutions for pressing challenges facing the urban environment. The program will provide comprehensive business development and design support to ventures that address crucial issues and opportunities, and will help guide them from conceptualization to practical realization.