The Zayed Sustainability Prize, the UAE’s pioneering global award for impactful innovation, has announced the 33 finalists for its 2026 cycle. Selected from a record 7,761 submissions across 173 countries, these finalists represent a new wave of solutions addressing critical global challenges. The winners are set to be unveiled at the awards ceremony on January 13, 2026, during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
A Global Cohort Tackling Urgent Challenges
The finalists were chosen by the Prize’s esteemed Jury for their work in pioneering inclusive, tech-enabled, and locally adapted solutions. Their innovations span clean energy, safe water, nutritious food, quality healthcare, and climate resilience, demonstrating tangible impact on communities worldwide. H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, highlighted the finalists’ potential, stating, “This year’s finalists show that sustainability and prosperity are no longer separate goals, but two sides of the same path forward. From AI-enabled health diagnostics and circular food systems to disaster preparedness and climate resilience, they are harnessing technology, finance, and community leadership to deliver solutions that are affordable, reliable, scalable and generate socioeconomic value for the communities they serve.”
UAE’s Jade Autism Among Health Category Finalists
Among the global innovators, UAE-based SME Jade Autism was named a finalist in the Health category. The company develops AI and gamified cognitive tools to screen and support neurodiverse children, with its solutions adopted in over 450 institutions across 179 countries. Other finalists in the Health category include Kenya’s Drop Access, which provides solar-powered medical refrigeration, and Zambia’s Healthy Learners, an NPO that transforms schools into frontline health hubs.
Innovators Across Food, Energy, Water, And Climate
The finalists across the other key categories showcase a diverse range of groundbreaking technologies.
- Food: E Green Global (South Korea), INMED South Africa (South Africa), and N&E Innovations (Singapore) are tackling food security with solutions in disease-free seed production, aquaponics, and food waste upcycling.
- Energy: BASE Foundation (Switzerland), GRST (China, Hong Kong), and Poder y Luz Maya (Guatemala) are advancing accessible clean cooling, water-based battery recycling, and solar power for remote indigenous schools.
- Water: IRIBA Water Group (Rwanda), Stattus4 (Brazil), and The Great Bubble Barrier (The Netherlands) are addressing water scarcity and pollution through solar-powered water ATMs, AI-powered leak detection, and river plastic prevention systems.
- Climate Action: Build Up Nepal (Nepal), CLIC RECYCLE (Spain), and GREE Energy (China, Hong Kong) are leading efforts in disaster resilience with eco-bricks, circular solutions for hair waste, and modular biogas systems.
Fostering The Next Generation Of Leaders
The Global High Schools category highlights student-led sustainability projects. Finalists from the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region include Fawakhir School for Applied Technology from Egypt, Al-Raja School for the Hearing Impaired from Jordan, and Rashaya High School from Lebanon. They compete alongside schools from The Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe & Central Asia, South Asia, and East Asia & Pacific.
About The Zayed Sustainability Prize
The Zayed Sustainability Prize is the UAE’s global award honouring organisations and high schools with innovative, impactful, and inspiring sustainability solutions. Established in 2008, the Prize has, through its 128 winners to date, positively impacted the lives of over 400 million people globally. Winners in the Health, Food, Energy, Water, and Climate Action categories receive US $1 million each, while the six winning Global High Schools are granted up to US $150,000 to further develop their projects.
Source: MEA TechWatch
