twofour54 invests in stock photography start-up “Silkroad Images”
24 Jan 2016
twofour54 has taken a stake in start-up stock photography and audio-video content library, Silkroad Images, as part of its commitment to building a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem across all platforms.
twofour54 led the investment in Silkroad Images with “500 Startups”, a global venture capital seed fund and start-up accelerator based in Silicon Valley, as co-investors.
Silkroad Images offers consumers authentic content from reputable photographers curated by the Silkroad Images team in addition to a collection of high quality audio-video content from the region to an international audience. Through their business model, Silkroad Images provides photographers with an opportunity to showcase their work to interested individuals or entities and be compensated for its use.
Noura Al Kaabi, CEO of twofour54, said: “Silkroad Images is a new platform that encourages local and regional photographers to showcase their talent and comes in line with our objectives of supporting the development of the industry and its talent. Our aim is to build a thriving and diversified media sector and investing in start-ups is an integral part of this. Abu Dhabi provides all the success factors for startups in the media and entertainment industry and paves the way for entrepreneurs to launch and grow their businesses through its investment strategy.”
“We have successfully invested in a number of unique start-ups, each serving an underdeveloped part of the industry value chain and we will continue to support entrepreneurs as they bolster the growth of the industry,” she added.
Riham Mahafzah, Founder and CEO of Silkroad Images, said: “Securing this deal with twofour54 and 500 Startups gives us great pride and fuels our growth to become the leading source of authentic high quality photography and audio-video content in the region. Silkroad Images provides creative photographers with an additional source of income as they get compensated for the use of their content by individuals and entities. We are thankful for the support we received from such prominent organisations and look forward to taking our start-up to the next development stage.”
In addition to providing funding, twofour54 works with entrepreneurs and early stage businesses to develop their business plans and also provides ongoing expertise, support and mentoring to help them succeed. Along with Silkroad Images, twofour54’s current investment portfolio includes Tahadi Games, Falafel Games, Jawaker, PopArabia, T-Break Media, Akhtaboot, Nibras, Istikana, and The Luxury Closet.
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