If you have a unique business idea and are looking for a stage to present it, here’s the right opportunity for you. Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ) has partnered with Red Bull to take innovators from the UAE to the global stage, with Red Bull Basement returning for 2024.
The initiative empowers the next generation of innovators to conceive, develop and launch their ideas, accelerated by AI technology.
What is Red Bull Basement?
Red Bull Basement empowers the next generation of innovators to develop and launch outstanding ideas, accelerated by AI technology. Participants will be offered personal growth opportunities from networking to collaboration and expert mentor workshops.
In the culmination of the 2024 edition, teams from over 40 countries will engage with thought leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries from around the world as they bring their ideas to life.
Global stage
Each team that applies will be able to create their own business plan, with the help of AI, and the national winners from the UAE will be invited to a world final in Tokyo, Japan. The application window is open until October 25, 2024.
“This collaboration aligns with DAFZ’s commitment to supporting and nurturing young talents and innovators, encouraging them to adopt the latest technological and smart solutions. With this partnership, we are taking an exciting step to reinforce our goals of empowering entrepreneurs, the investment ecosystem, companies, and projects of all types and sizes, while enhancing Dubai’s status as a hub for creative talent and a capital for innovation and investment,” said Arif Khoury, senior vice president – customer care at DAFZ
“We are excited to partner with Red Bull Basement for this transformative initiative. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, and the event provides a unique platform for these young innovators to bring their ideas to life. We look forward to seeing the revolutionary ideas that will emerge from this event and are committed to supporting future leaders in turning their ideas into successful ventures,” he added.
Who can apply?
Red Bull Basement is open to everyone 18 years of age and older, including current residents of the UAE. Also, there are no limits to how many ideas an applicant can submit.
Where to apply?
Participants can apply on the official website by clicking here.
What is the format?
The programme comprises three stages: application, development and the global final.
Phase 1 – Application
From September 1 through October 25, one- or two-member teams of students and innovators from the UAE can visit the Red Bull Basement website, where an AI tool will help them create and submit a one-page business plan as their application.
What if you don’t have an idea? Well, participants can use the AI application tool to inspire one and accelerate their submission.
A panel of local judges will select the top teams for the national final, with the winner representing the UAE at December’s global final.
Alex Scott, tech leader and startup advisor, and member of Superteam UAE, and Julien Plouzeau, senior partner at Oraseya Capital, the VC arm of Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), are among the judges for the UAE leg of the event. Senior executives from the DIFC Innovation Hub and Sorbonne University may also come on board as judges.
Phase 2 – Development
From November 12 until December 1, the national-winning teams will unlock resources, including the chance to collaborate with mentors and experts, as well as AI technology, to further develop their business plan and evolve their ideas toward readiness as a business startup.
Phase 3 – Global final
From December 2 until December 5, the world final will bring together finalists from 40 countries in Tokyo. Featuring workshops, a dedicated AI session, and networking with international entrepreneurs, visionaries and business leaders, the world final will culminate with the announcement of the global winner of Red Bull Basement 2024.
What does the winner get?
The team crowned the Red Bull Basement global winner will embark on an all-expenses paid journey to Silicon Valley and Los Angeles in 2025, accessing groundbreaking opportunities, receiving personalized mentorship from Plug and Play VC, and connecting with top industry leaders.
Key partners
Red Bull Basement 2024 is collaborating with Microsoft, AMD, DAFZ and DIFC Innovation Hub for its sixth edition, focusing strongly on AI technologies to deliver the best possible experience. The Red Bull Basement Chatbot, powered by Microsoft, will use Azure OpenAI Service and AMD Instinct accelerators to assist teams to develop ideas and create business plans.
How does the AI application tool work?
Economy Middle East tried out the tool to give you an idea of how it works.
When you click on ‘apply now’, the first page gives you two options: ‘apply with an existing idea’, and ‘help me brainstorm an idea’.
Applying with an existing idea
When you select the first option, the tool asks you to describe the idea in one sentence. Once you enter the details of your idea, the tool asks you how your idea will help people. Then, you have to describe the target market and audience.
Once these details have been provided, the tool will generate your business pitch.
Brainstorming an idea
Now let’s select the second option – ‘help me brainstorm an idea’.
The tool gives you nine broad topics: sustainability, education, body and mind, smart cities, career, accessibility, healthcare, empowerment, and creator economy. We selected ‘smart cities’.
On the next page, the AI tool again displayed nine options: wellbeing, food and nutrition, travel and culture, arts and entertainment, sports and leisure, literature and learning, AI and technology, finance and investment, and community building. Here, we selected ‘finance and investment’.
Once we clicked ‘next’, the AI tool gave us six options with the prompt: what kind of impact would you like your startup to have? The options were: improve quality of life, innovate with technology, reduce social disparities, drive economic growth, design reusable products, and improve human communication. Here we chose ‘design reusable products’.
On submitting the response, the tool listed three problems that we would like our startup to solve. These were:
- Urban areas generate significant financial waste due to inefficient resource management and lack of integration of circular economy principles.
- High costs associated with waste disposal in cities, which can be mitigated by developing reusable products and sustainable waste management systems.
- Lack of investment in smart city technologies that promote reusable products and sustainable practices, leading to higher environmental and economic costs.
We selected the second option.
Next, we were given three questions and asked to select one to help create the startup pitch.
- What if your startup could turn waste disposal into a community-driven initiative where residents earn rewards for reducing their waste?
- What if we could transform waste materials into valuable resources using a decentralized network of micro-recycling facilities throughout the city?
- What if an AI-driven app could guide citizens on how to best reuse and repurpose everyday items to minimize waste?
Here, we chose the first option.
The pitch
When we clicked ‘next’, the tool generated the following pitch:
Startup name: EcoWise
One sentence summary: Turning waste into resourceful solutions with AI guidance
Idea: An AI-driven app that guides citizens on how to best reuse and repurpose everyday items to minimize waste.
Mission: High costs associated with waste disposal in cities can be mitigated by developing reusable products and sustainable waste management systems, promoting environmental conservation and cost savings.
Market: We are targeting environmentally conscious urban residents and municipalities looking for sustainable waste management solutions.
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