Abu Dhabi's twofour54 in Forbes' top investors list
ABU DHABI, October 15, 2017
Abu Dhabi media and entertainment hub twofour5 has been acknowledged as having one of the best eyes for an investment in the region.
The free zone has been ranked 10th on the Forbes Middle East’s list of the 50 Most Active Investors – and the second highest accelerator. The list recognises backers who are spotting entrepreneurial talent in the Arab world and helping them thrive through funding.
The list was revealed at the recent Forbes Middle East Innovators event in Dubai, which brought together the region’s most active and game-changing start-ups and investors.
Today, twofour54 has 12 active direct investments, where it has put capital into promising digital ventures in return for equity. All the firms have a presence at twofour54 and range from e-commerce and e-learning to artificial intelligence and gaming.
The media hub is also investing in start-ups indirectly via digital media accelerators such as Flat6Labs, which has been running at twofour54 since 2014.
Among the firms that have received investment from twofour54 is cross-platform gaming start-up Unnyhog.
A graduate of Flat6labs’ first cycle in 2015, Unnyhog is introducing technological innovations to gaming design, such as UnnyWorld, a huge cross-platform multiplayer online game based in a fantasy world.
Through its investment strategy, twofour54 aims to strengthen the media and entertainment industry in Abu Dhabi, create jobs, facilitate the transfer of knowledge and develop talent, said a top official.
Maryam AlMheiri, the CEO of the Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi and twofour54, said: "twofour54 is the perfect home for digital start-ups in this region as we have the talent, the expertise and the experience all on one campus."
“This region is bursting with promising start-ups that just need the right support to realise their full potential," she noted.
“We are fully committed to supporting such enterprises as it encourages innovation and creativity - key contributors to a healthy, diversified economy,” she added.
In addition to providing funding, twofour54 works with entrepreneurs and early stage firms such as Unnyhog to develop their business plans and also provides ongoing expertise, support and mentoring.
Pavel Ignatov, the founder and CEO of Unnyhog, said: "We are incredibly grateful to twofour54 for their support, which has helped us realise our dreams. They have an incredible eye for an entrepreneurial opportunity and we are lucky to be part of their talented, growing community."
Unnyhog has been so successful that it attracted the attention of YCombinator, one of the world’s leading digital accelerators. YCombinator not only invests in start-ups but also invites them to Silicon Valley for three months to hone their business.
Another recent investment success story is Narrativa, a technology company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to translate data into easy-to-understand content.
The Abu Dhabi's media hub led a group of large media companies and business angels from Europe, the US and the UAE that invested in the firm, making it one of the first AI start-ups to receive funding in the UAE.
The investment will go towards team expansion, sales and marketing, and technology development to further enhance the evolution of Narrativa’s AI technology.
Among the other twofour54 investments are Silkroad Images, Mumzworld, Falafel Games, Jawaker, PopArabia, T-Break Media, Akhtaboot, and The Luxury Closet.
The Forbes Middle East Innovators event also saw the release of the Top 100 Start-ups in the Arab World list, which comprises those start-ups that have championed the most innovative ideas and received the most external funding in the last year.
The list includes a number of start-ups based in twofour54: The Luxury Closet (No. 6), Mumzworld (No. 8), Falafel Games (No. 25), Lamsa (No. 52), Washmen (No. 63), and Collectionair (No. 94).
Al Mheiri expressed delight at being home to six of the most exciting start-ups in the Arab World.
"This reflects the incredible ecosystem that we have built at twofour54 and the importance that we place on the value that creative industries can bring to business and society," she noted.
"These companies range from animation to e-commerce, illustrating how a wide range of companies can benefit from our sympathetic philosophy, a like-minded network of facilities and industry expertise," remarked Al Mheiri.
"We welcome everyone, from big international movie studios to young, local start-up businesses, and we support and nurture all of them," she added.-TradeArabia News Service
