The company has invested in a UAE server infrastructure to meet local requirements and to ensure client data protection. Furthermore, Wazoku has partnered with FKRA, a UAE innovation consultancy, to bring on-the-ground expertise to Wazoku’s operations and increased responsiveness to local market requirements.

“Demand for open innovation services in GCC is growing rapidly, with the region increasingly seeking global expertise to address its challenges,” said Schonning Eysturoy, Senior Director of Innovation Ecosystems at Wazoku. “With more than 2,500 challenges solved through open innovation, including for some of the region’s largest organisations, Wazoku is well positioned to support this need for innovation expertise. Our partnership with FKRA and the launch of our new UAE-based server reflect our commitment to the region and will enhance our ability to meet the GCC’s requirements much more effectively.”

Wazoku already has offices and partners in the UK, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Colombia and the US, and the expansion marks a significant step in its growth. It has previously worked with organisations across the GCC, including Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Neom, Saudi Water Authority, and Aramco.

Wazoku recently supported the Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination (GPID), the world’s largest competition dedicated to excellence in desalination. Leveraging crowdsourcing, Wazoku identified 540 participants this year – more than double the previous year’s count. These participants will compete for $10 million in prize money, with the winner to be announced in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 25th.

Since establishing a presence in the UAE, Wazoku has added clients such as the defense contractor EDGE Group, and the Technology Innovation Institute (TII). The expansion and partnerships will be formally announced at an event in Abu Dhabi on November 19, 2024, held in collaboration with TII. The event will focus on how crowdsourcing can foster innovation in the region and highlight the successful open innovation programs by these organisations.

Wazoku works with customers, including Sanofi, A2A, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and many global enterprise businesses, government departments and not-for-profits, to crowdsource and manage ideas and innovation.

Its Innovation Ecosystem Platform supports its Total Innovation approach to Market Intelligence & Scouting, Innovation Management and Startup & Partner Ecosystem Management. This enables organisations to crowdsource, capture, and manage ideas, whether from their own networks (such as employees, customers, or partners) or via the 700,000 researchers, scientists, and other experts that form part of the Wazoku Crowd.

“The GCC countries are increasing their investment in R&D, with UAE recently establishing an R&D council to help build an innovation ecosystem to strengthen the performance and effectiveness of the UAE’s science and technology sector. Wazoku, with its market leading innovation management platform and global innovation ecosystem can support this ambition,” Eysturoy continued. “Our UAE presence is a pivotal step that means we can better serve clients across the GCC as they approach innovation on a bigger and more sustainable scale.”

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