General Motors Awards $150,000 Grant to 11 Arab Innovators

General Motors Grant Supports 11 Young Arab Innovators

The General Motors $150,000 grant supports the Arab Youth Centre's Young Arab Pioneers initiative, which recognises promising young talent and connects innovators with professional networks, institutions, specialised expertise and resources to help develop their ideas into practical projects and businesses.

The 11 recipients include:

• Akram Amir: Founder of AR Engineering, developing digital twin and augmented reality technologies for immersive defence training.

• Kareem Ayyad: Creator of ai.Uktob, an Arabic generative AI platform with more than 400,000 users.

• Yousra Farhani: An Algeria-based researcher specialising in quantum computing.

• Rashid Ahmad Al Salmi: An Emirati innovator working on electric mobility technologies.

• Mohammed Saud Al-Otaibi: Founder of Wathba, an initiative supporting young Saudi professionals through peer mentoring.

• Ahmed Bayram: Through Blackbox and Bridges for Entrepreneurship, supports Syrian youth and refugees in transforming ideas into startups.

• Mohamed Gawish: Founder of iSchool, which teaches children across the Middle East and North Africa coding, AI, game development and data science.

• Hadeer Shalaby: An Egyptian entrepreneur who has trained approximately 350,000 women and young people and contributed to the creation of around 10,000 jobs in underserved communities.

• Sharifah Alhinai: Supports creative talent across the Gulf through Sekka and the Khaleeji Art Museum.

• Nisreen Almadi and Hekma Jabouli: Biomedical engineers developing prosthetics and robotic exoskeletons designed to help people with mobility impairments move more independently.

The recipients highlight the range of emerging technologies being developed by young Arab entrepreneurs and researchers, including solutions with potential applications in transportation, healthcare, education and advanced manufacturing.

General Motors and Arab Youth Centre Expand Partnership

The latest agreement strengthens the General Motors and Arab Youth Centre partnership, which began in 2021 with a focus on developing the capabilities of young people across the Arab region.

Over the past five years, GM and AYC have collaborated on webinars, interactive technology and manufacturing sessions, mentorship programmes, professional training and engagement with regional and international industry experts.

These activities have provided young participants with opportunities to develop professional, entrepreneurial and leadership skills while gaining exposure to AI, digitalisation, future mobility and advanced manufacturing technologies.

Eng. Fatima Al Hallami, Executive Director of the Arab Youth Centre, highlighted the importance of private-sector partnerships in connecting young innovators with the expertise, resources and professional networks needed to advance their projects and contribute to long-term regional development.

Jorge Plata, President and Managing Director of General Motors Africa and Middle East, said the expanded partnership reflects GM's commitment to supporting Arab innovators and contributing to regional development priorities.

He also recognised the achievements of the 11 recipients, highlighting the region's growing pool of talent and the opportunities that can emerge when young innovators gain access to specialised knowledge, resources and industry support.

Through the renewed collaboration, General Motors and the Arab Youth Centre aim to create further opportunities for young Arab innovators to develop their projects, strengthen their capabilities and pursue careers and businesses across technology, mobility, education and healthcare.