twofour54 an Abu Dhabi government supported organization that aims to help turn Abu Dhabi into a media production hub has announced few days ago that its arm ibtikar, the media industry funding and support pillar of twofour54 has launched twofour54 ibtikar: creative lab, a grant funding scheme aimed at helping young Arabs get their ideas off the ground.
twofour54 ibtikar: creative lab offers grant funding and business support to Arab individuals from the UAE and across the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region, helping what they see as great ideas that would benefit from seed funding, development guidance and planning to get off the ground.
twofour54 ibtikar: creative lab is believed to be the first incubator in MENA to be focused on the media and entertainment sector, and provides a starting point to a viable and long term career in this dynamic industry. It offers funds ranging from US$1,000 to US$50,000 for ideas demonstrating exceptional creativity and originality across all media platforms including television, radio, film, publishing, online, mobile, music, gaming and animation.
twofour54 ibtikar: creative lab and young Arab funding recipients will engage in regular brainstorming sessions to develop ideas into fully fledged creative projects. A key part of this collaborative process will include budget creation and training in project execution and support throughout.
twofour54 ibtikar: creative lab expands twofour54 ibtikar’s funding portfolio, which also includes ibtikar ventures, the first dedicated MENA-based media and entertainment investment fund.
This is another good news for Arab entrepreneurs, but since this fund is aimed at online and offline media and the entertainment sector, we hope TowFour54 will not fund Entertainment startups who would provide content that would not be aligned with the best interest and the special values of the Arab world.