QDB picks 5 winners to develop innovative solutions to tackle coronavirus

QDB had launched an electronic platform that gives people with innovative ideas the opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial ideas that will help in dealing with the various problems and challenges posed by the spread of the Coronavirus, in partnership with a number of ministries, academia, private sector institutions and business incubators.

The winning ideas were:

INVENT – a respirator with advanced systems and modular designs.

WASLA – an integrated program that uses artificial intelligence to analyze and address the risks facing supply chains.

BIZLEASE – a digital platform that connects supply and demand to the workforce.

ROBOTICS – an independent robot that features self-control for medicine and food delivery inside hospitals.

V-TECH – a silicone frame to ensure medical personnel are comfortable when wearing N-95 masks.

The initiative witnessed a great turnout from citizens and residents, as the number of requests to participate exceeded more than 1,500 applications. The best 68 were chosen to go through the final stages that were held via a digital platform for four days.

The initiative was supervised by experts and consultants from the various partner organizations, who provided all types of supervision and guidance to develop the ideas of the teams participating in the initiative.

“The five winning ideas were chosen with great care in view of the strength and convergence of the levels of all the participating ideas, based on the criteria of the possibility of implementation and continuity in the event of converting it to a project based on the ground, and the commercial sustainability of the project, and the extent of the project’s influence in solving the problem that it will work to address, as well as the skills of the work team presenting the idea and its ability to implement the project during all its stages.” QDB said.

The CEO of QDB Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, said that this national initiative is part of the banks continuous efforts to provide an opportunity for innovative ideas to contribute to overcoming a number of challenges presented by the current circumstance.

He added that the initiative witnessed a great turnout by the various components of society, as all the ideas participating in the competition were innovative, which indicates a great eagerness on the part of citizens and residents to be effective in limiting the impact of the pandemic on the various components of life and works during the current period.