Now accepting applications for Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies: click here to apply.

Something as simple as a fountain pen was invented in Egypt when quills and ink were deemed too messy for writing. The earliest use of windmills was recorded in Persia, and today, wind power is promising to change the global energy landscape. 

Innovation often starts with tweaks to amp up efficiency but finds itself well placed for a revolution in the future. Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list has been honoring out-of-the-box products, game-changing business strategies, and pathbreaking designs since 2008. 

The stories of how innovation took shape from an unconventional idea or which crisis created the necessity for an invention can inspire the world. We at Fast Company Middle East aim to chronicle these stories to connect investors and entrepreneurs so that ideas can evolve further.

Our application period is open, and here’s why you should participate in Most Innovative Companies 2022:

UNLOCK YOUR TALENT AND POTENTIAL

Conversations with many CEOs tell us that talent is their biggest issue: recruiting the best people, retaining them, and motivating them. And being selected as one of the Most Innovative Companies, they believe, can be a meaningful catalyst in all of these efforts. To work at one of the Middle East’s Most Innovative Companies means that this is a business with a mission and purpose larger than merely making money. It means it’s a company with the ability to get things done at a cadence that can further those goals.

TURBOCHARGE YOUR STORYTELLING

Capital is the other thing most CEOs care about, particularly in privately held companies. Building the future requires funding — to hire the best talent and to deal with whatever expenditures are necessary to achieve their vision. While there is no direct cause and effect between being recognized as a Most Innovative Company and successful fundraising, it is precisely the signal that communicates to investors that your products and services resonate with consumers and the public.

SEE HOW OTHERS SEE THE VALUE IN YOUR WORK

Fast Company will explain the Most Innovative Company honorees better than they ever could. That ability to communicate and often synthesize complex ideas for greater understanding is a hallmark of good journalism. It also catalyzes employees and supercharges their ability to tell their own stories, recruit the best talent, and woo investors.

JOIN A COMMUNITY

Most Innovative Company honorees will also be a part of Fast Company’s larger community. We will look at these companies to identify speakers for events, such as the MIC Summit and Fast Company Innovation Festival, among others. They’re the companies we will look to for other story opportunities throughout the year. They’re the ones whose forthcoming news will merit heightened consideration for coverage. In addition, the leaders of these companies will connect with one other, amplifying their efforts to create even more innovation and positive change in the world.

Most Innovative Companies comes to the Middle East this October! Click here to know more.