WEF's UpLink platform for innovators become 10,000-strong

As nations around the globe struggle to cope with the manifold disruptions due to the COVID-19 crisis, nearly 10,000 innovators have joined a digital platform created by the World Economic Forum to offer solutions to build a greener, fairer and more resilient world.

UpLink, created by the WEF in partnership with Salesforce and Deloitte, connects the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to networks of contacts that have the resources, expertise and experience to help bring about change.

It was launched at the WEF Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos and is now live with nearly 10,000 users, over 900 solutions, 12 digital communities, and 80 high-quality UpLink Innovators selected by experts and investors, said the Geneva-based group that describes itself as an international organisation for public-private partnership.

''Initiatives shouldn't just come from enlightened business leaders or governments. We have to engage people,'' WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said.

''They have ideas. We have to give them the means to translate their ideas into action,'' he added.

Innovations highlighted and supported by UpLink so far include Cubex Global, a digital marketplace which sells unused space in shipping containers; SUGi, which allows individuals to invest in nature and plant urban forests; and Desolenator, which is using solar power to purify water, making remote communities more water-resilient.

UpLink is calling on impact-oriented entrepreneurs, investors, experts and changemakers to join the the movement to power innovation to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).