Over the next 182 days, Expo 2020 Dubai will bring together senior government representatives from 192+ nations, trade delegations and change-makers under a common roof.

For many of these participants, building and strengthening ties is crucial.

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According to organisers, nearly 75 per cent of partners, participants and stakeholders have cited ‘investment and trade’ as well as ‘business opportunities’ as top-ranked priorities for engaging with and participating at Expo 2020.

Expo 2020’s business programme called ‘Thrive Together’ comes under the umbrella of the wider Programme for People and Planet, and will offer curated events and opportunities to build new business links.

Thrive Together includes:

• Three global business forums (GBF Africa, GBF ASEAN and GBF LatAm), coordinated by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• 10 thematic business forums, aligned with Expo’s theme weeks and focusing on areas of shared global interest, identifying current challenges and emerging opportunities in a range of nontraditional sectors
• Country business briefings, enabling Expo’s international participants to showcase their specific trade and investment opportunities in front of a global audience on their dedicated national days
• The cutting edge, AI powered Expo 2020 business-to-business app, facilitating connections, networking and meeting requests
• A business calendar enabling business visitors to identify and attend key business events taking place site-wide, as well as connect with incoming business delegations.
• Self-guided visitor journeys, calibrated to specific sectoral objectives and interests and incorporating country pavilions, thematic pavilions and relevant events and exhibits.
• The Expo 2020 Business Connect Centre, located at the heart of the site and hosting business organisations from across the region, representing more than one million companies all in one place.

Expo’s Premium Experience Season Pass has been created specifically with business focused visitors in mind. Priced at AED1,750, it offers opportunities for networking, as well as complementary access to the business app.

For the greater good

Expo has also teamed up with non-profit organisations and other entities to leverage its global presence for the greater good.

Expo Live supports global innovators to tackle global challenges

Since August 2020, its Expo Live initiative has teamed with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support grassroots innovators across the globe, promoting innovation in global humanitarian and development response.

As of July 2021, Expo Live has backed 140 grantees from 76 nations, providing them with grants of up to $100,000 in key areas such as agriculture, education, fintech, healthcare and employment. Many of these grantees also received additional funding during the Covid-19 pandemic, to help them overcome monetary challenges.

Alongside entities such as Emirates NBD and Network International, Expo has also committed to Mastercard’s Priceless Planet Coalition in a bid to plant 100 million trees across Kenya, Brazil and Australia by 2025.

Private firms can push sustainability agenda

Most recently, Expo announced that it had joined forces with the UN Global Compact in June 2021 to hold a Sustainable Development Goals Business Forum during Expo’s Global Goals Week (16-22 January 2022). The forum will leverage the power of World Expos to encourage new UN Global Compact membership participation and drive progress towards sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Business legacy

Post the event’s wrap-up in April 2022, the site will be transitioned to District 2020. More than 80 per cent of the site’s built environment will be repurposed, including Al Wasl Plaza, Terra and the Mobility pavilion.

Designed as a people-centric smart community, Expo’s legacy project is being positioned to attract innovative businesses. Expo partners including DP World, Siemens, Terminus and Accenture have confirmed that they will have offices in the district. DP World will establish a logistics training centre, and Terminus will base its first regional HQ as well as first rsearch and development centre outside of China at District 2020.

Siemens will meanwhile establish different divisions of its business group at District 2020, including Siemens Energy. Approximately 1,000 Siemens employees are expected to work within the two office buildings.

Siemens signs 10-year office lease at District 2020

In June 2020, District 2020 launched a global entrepreneur programme – Scale2Dubai – to enable start-ups and global innovators to scale their businesses in Dubai by offering two years’ free working space, assistance with business set up, subsidised urban living and access to capital and global networks.

District 2020 has strategic partnership agreements with the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises (Dubai SME), the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), who will supply District 2020 with eligible, high-potential start-ups for Scale2Dubai.

Also staying behind will be the Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC), which will leverage its position in Dubai South and in the vicinity of Al-Maktoum International Airport to attract major events and conferences.

District 2020 forms a pivotal part of Dubai 2040 masterplan, identified as one of the five key centres in Dubai’s long-term urban landscape.

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