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NexaBridge is DCO’s open innovation platform that connects governments, companies, and institutions with startups, SMEs, researchers, and technology builders to define priority problems, develop and validate solutions, and create pathways to pilot, investment, procurement, and cross-border scale.
The NexaBridge pathway
Every challenge sets out its scope, eligibility, evaluation criteria, and progression pathway before applications open.
Open
Build practical AI-enabled solutions to improve water security, efficiency, and resilience across the end-to-end water value chain. Solutions will be developed for validation in Saudi Arabia and potential adaptation across DCO Member States.
All deadlines are shown in KSA time (UTC+3).
Too many innovation initiatives stop at the pitch stage. NexaBridge creates an accountable pathway from an evidence-based challenge to solution development, transparent evaluation, validation, controlled pilots, and wider adoption.
DCO convenes challenge owners, innovators, and ecosystem partners around clear problems, realistic constraints, and measurable outcomes, creating stronger foundations for implementation and cross-border replication.
Challenges begin with a defined institutional need.
Progression depends on user, technical, and operational proof.
Validated solutions can access cross-border pathways.
Eight connected stages align problem owners, innovators, and ecosystem partners around measurable outcomes.
Identify high-value institutional and market priorities.
Turn broad needs into clear challenges and success measures.
Mobilize innovators around an accountable open call.
Co-create with problem owners, mentors, and technical experts.
Assess submissions against transparent, published criteria.
Test user fit, feasibility, data, and implementation readiness.
Deploy selected solutions in a controlled environment.
Create pathways to procurement, investment, and new markets.
Methodology disclaimer: Selection does not automatically guarantee a pilot, procurement, funding, or investment. Progression is evidence-based at every stage.
NexaBridge creates a common operating model for the institutions that own the problem and the innovators positioned to solve it.
Convert policy, service-delivery, and operational priorities into structured innovation pipelines with staged evaluation and lower-risk paths to validation and implementation.
Source relevant startups, SMEs, and innovators for defined business needs, proofs of concept, commercial partnerships, procurement pathways, and strategic innovation.
Work on real institutional and industry challenges, co-create with problem owners, build credible evidence, and access pathways to pilots, markets, investment, and partnership.
Contribute technical expertise, talent, infrastructure, mentorship, financing, or market access to challenges with defined needs and accountable progression gates.
For ministries, regulators, cities, public agencies, and multilateral institutions seeking implementable solutions to public-sector priorities.
For companies seeking startup partnerships, proofs of concept, commercial pilots, procurement pathways, and new market opportunities.
For rapid ideation, prototype development, talent discovery, and early-stage innovation pipelines that can progress into incubation, STRIDE, or future NexaBridge challenges.
Does your government, company, or institution have a clearly defined problem that could benefit from external innovation? DCO can help structure the challenge, mobilize relevant talent and solutions, manage transparent evaluation, and design a pathway to validation, pilot, and scale.
Challenge submissions are reviewed for strategic relevance, problem-owner commitment, data feasibility, and implementation potential.