DUBAI, 25th June, 2026 (WAM) — DP World Foundation and Expo City Dubai Foundation have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the growth of innovative social enterprises tackling some of the world’s most pressing development challenges, with initiatives that have already positively impacted more than 100,000 children and young people.
The partnership combines DP World Foundation’s commitment to creating sustainable community impact with Expo City Dubai Foundation’s Global Innovators Programme, supporting entrepreneurs whose solutions drive measurable social, economic and environmental progress.
The collaboration launched with support for two Africa-based ventures – Le Lionceau in Senegal and Smartcore in Tanzania – selected from the seventh cohort of the programme in recognition of their transformative work in education, skills development and youth empowerment.
In Senegal, the partnership has supported more than 55,000 children to date through the distribution of Le Lionceau’s nutritious baby food, made from underutilised African crops sourced from smallholder farmers across the Sahel region. A targeted initiative within this collaboration saw DP World Foundation facilitate the distribution of 10,000 sachets of fortified infant flour – providing the equivalent of approximately 40,000 nutrient-dense meals – specifically to children across highly vulnerable communities, including those in hospitals and orphanages.
In Tanzania, edtech firm Smartcore is expanding access to quality education through its digital platform, Kisomo. With the Foundations’ support, the platform has reached more than 59,000 children to date across both in-school learners as well as out-of-school children – 60 per cent of whom are female. Over 130 schools have been onboarded and 42 marginalised schools equipped with offline platform access to ensure equitable education access in regions with limited internet connectivity.
Building on this success, DP World Foundation will also support another two entrepreneurs from the latest cohort of Expo City Dubai Foundation’s Global Innovators Programme, which is designed to scale solutions tackling extreme heat. Fuselage Innovations, an Indian enterprise harnessing advanced agricultural drone solutions for precise heat-stress detection and protection of crops, and Moon Innovations from Nigeria, producers of modular solar-energy systems to secure food, health and livelihoods in climate-vulnerable regions, will receive funding of up to US$100,000, alongside technical guidance, visibility and access to networking opportunities.
Latifa Al Qemzi, Director-General, DP World Foundation, said, “Partnerships like this demonstrate how purposeful collaboration can unlock scalable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. At DP World Foundation, we are committed to supporting initiatives that deliver tangible, long-term impact – from strengthening food security to expanding access to quality education. By working with Expo City Dubai Foundation and empowering innovative entrepreneurs, we are not only addressing immediate community needs, but also investing in resilient, inclusive systems that enable future generations to thrive.
“As a global trade and logistics leader, we recognise the critical role connectivity plays in enabling impact at scale, and we will continue to leverage our network to support the sustainable growth of such initiatives.”
Yousuf Caires, Executive Director, Expo City Dubai Foundation, said, “Collaboration and innovation to drive progress is at the core of everything we do at Expo City Dubai, and we are thrilled to have DP World Foundation on board as a partner. Their support has been invaluable in advancing projects to date, and we are delighted that our partnership is continuing to support even more initiatives tackling critical issues through our latest Global Innovator Programme cohort. We look forward to working together to contribute to a more sustainable future for all.”
The partnership builds on the long-standing collaboration between the two organisations forged during Expo 2020 Dubai and reflects a shared focus on scaling innovation-led development. It also comes as DP World strengthens its footprint at Expo City, where its new global headquarters is set for completion in 2027.
Both organisations will continue exploring similar initiatives in new markets, further amplifying their impact.
Source: Emirates News Agency