Entrepreneurship•Remote

Zayed Sustainability Prize

Funding

Grant

Program dates

TBA

The Zayed Sustainability Prize is the UAE’s pioneering global award for sustainability, established in 2008 to honour the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It recognises small and medium enterprises (SMEs), non-profit organisations, and high schools whose solutions deliver proven, scalable impact across six categories: Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action, and Global High Schools. Since inception it has supported 128 winners whose work has reached more than 400 million people. Winners are announced each January during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

Benefits & funding

  • Total prize fund of US$7.2 million for the 2027 cycle.
  • Winners in each of the five organisation categories (Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action): US$1,000,000 each.
  • Global High Schools: one winning school per world region receives US$150,000 — six regions: the Americas; Sub-Saharan Africa; Middle East & North Africa; Europe & Central Asia; South Asia; East Asia & Pacific.
  • Finalists are also funded: US$100,000 for each organisation finalist, and US$25,000 for each finalist school (12 schools).
  • Global recognition and visibility through the awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

Eligibility

  • Open to applicants worldwide; no nationality or country restriction.
  • Five organisation categories: applicant must be a registered small or medium enterprise (SME) or non-profit organisation (NPO) whose solution is already delivering impact on the ground.
  • Global High Schools category: secondary schools worldwide (students roughly aged 11–19), with student-led projects supported by school management.
  • Solutions are judged on three criteria — Impact, Innovation, and Inspiration — and must show a clear long-term plan to deploy and scale.
  • Early-stage start-ups, prototypes, demonstration projects, and solutions with no demonstrated impact are not eligible.

Application process

  1. 1
    Register on the official Prize entry portal.
  2. 2
    Select your category and complete the online submission form.
  3. 3
    Submit before the annual deadline; entries are assessed by a Selection Committee and a Jury.

Program timeline

  1. January 2026

    Submissions open (2027 cycle)

  2. Submissions close

    15 June 2026

  3. Shortlist announced

    August 2026

  4. Finalists announced

    September 2026

  5. Winners announced at the awards ceremony, Abu Dhabi

    January 2027