A total of 76 submissions from 10 Arab countries have qualified for Round 2 of Challenge 22. Now in its second cycle, the innovation award launched by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) initially received 937 submissions that underwent an extensive auditing and review process.

As part of its ongoing mandate, Challenge 22 aims to attract innovators and entrepreneurs to support and nurture ideas that could potentially serve as innovative solutions for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™, as well as contributing to the organisation of other major events and their sustainable impact on Arab societies.

Commenting on the submissions and review process, the SC Communications Director, Fatma Al Nuaimi, said: "The organisers and reviewers were keen to choose the most viable submissions – on both technical and financial merit – in addition to their potential for contributing to the legacy of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar."

Al Nuaimi added: "Challenge 22 represents the strategic vision of Qatar and its commitment to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which goes beyond basic execution and translates into a catalyst for social, economic and cultural development processes. We wish all the submissions the very best of luck."

In its second cycle, Challenge 22 reached out to innovators and entrepreneurs in 10 Arab countries to submit their ideas in four categories: Tourism Experience, which received 308 submissions; the Internet of Things, 269 submissions; Sustainability, 217 submissions; and the Health and Safety Challenge, which received 143 submissions, in Round 1.

Submissions from Qatar came top of the list, with 17 submissions going through to Round 2. This was followed by submissions from Egypt with 11 submissions, Saudi Arabia 10 submissions, Jordan 9 submissions, UAE 8 submissions, Tunisia 6 submissions, Kuwait, Morocco, & Oman with four submissions from each country, and lastly three submissions from Bahrain.

The qualified submissions per challenge are as follows: 27 submissions from Internet of Things, 23 submissions from Sustainability, 21 submissions from Tourism Experience, and five submissions from Health & Safety.

Qualifying proposals have until 7 March to fine-tune their submissions before submitting for the second round of reviews, after which the finalists will be announced. The 76 successful submissions will also have access to the Challenge 22 network of mentors, along with two training workshops provided by the programme partner AstroLabs, to help develop their proposals for Round 2.

Finalists will then be invited to Doha to take part in interactive trainings, mentorship sessions, and workshops, all of which are designed to help develop their ideas and present to the judging panel. The final event will also include 'Summit 22' – bringing together regional and international innovators and entrepreneurs to share and discuss their experiences.

Challenge 22's second edition was launched in cooperation with SC's strategic partners Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), Wamda, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Enterprise Forum Pan-Arab, Facebook, and Programme Partners Qatar Science and Technology Park, Qatar Business Incubation Center, Qatar Development Bank, Qatar Airways, AstroLabs and FbStart, along with more than 32 regional partners.