Open call: Creation Africa projects in Kenya

The call seeks to support and accompany Kenyan creatives in the development and realisation of innovative projects in the digital space and strengthen technical and entrepreneurial skills.

The call is designed to support the creation of ambitious new work by creatives working in or at the intersection of music, sound design, animation, webtoons, graphic novels, video games and immersive media, with the potential for commercialisation and job creation.

With a focus on supporting creative entrepreneurs, this initiative will grant project funding and access to ‘Le Hub @ Alliance’, a co-working space equipped with four high performing workstations and the latest software. It will also assist in identifying potential distribution channels.

The call for projects is aimed at those who are in the development stage of an excellent idea, as well as those who already have a project under development and are preparing to finalise it and launch it in the market.

Eligible categories

• Music and sound design: innovative projects integrating music or sound design, with an emphasis on originality and cultural impact.
• Animation, webtoons, and graphic novel: projects focused on storytelling through animation, sequential art, or innovative visual narratives.
• Video games: original game development projects, including mobile, PC, and console games.
• Immersive media (XR): projects utilising cutting-edge technologies to create immersive and interactive experiences.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be teams, collectives, organisations, companies based in Kenya.
• Applicants must have pre-ideated projects that need support to produce prototypes or demos or have projects that are at an advanced stage and need finalising and market access support.
• Projects should be feasible and demonstrate clear market potential.
• Applicants should be in a position to complete the projects within a period of 6 months and showcase them at the end of the six months period.

Support

• Financial support between KE 1 000 000 (about $7 750) to KE 2 000 000.
• Mentorship by industry experts.
• Access to ‘Le Hub @ Alliance’ equipped with four workstations: accelerated computing, NVIDIA RTX 4090 and 4080S graphic cards, AMD Radeon RX 7900 RTX, performance, visuals and efficiency at 4K and beyond subject to availability (upon pre-booking).

Selection and evaluation criteria

An expert jury composed of industry professionals will select the eligible projects based on:

• Originality and innovation: creative and technical uniqueness of the project.
• Feasibility: clear goals, realistic budget, and achievable timelines.
• Industry impact: potential to contribute to and valorize Kenya’s cultural and creative industries.
• Entrepreneurial potential: viability of the product and job creation across the value chain.
• Scalability: potential for growth and sustainability within the industry.

Application review process

The review process will be as follows:

• The initial sieve: The initial stage involves a preliminary review of all received applications to ensure they meet the basic eligibility criteria and submission requirements.
• Shortlisting: Applications will be reviewed by a jury composed of industry professionals based on eligibility and evaluation criteria, with the aim of shortlisting the most promising candidates for further consideration.
• Pitch stage: At this stage, shortlisted applicants are given the opportunity to present their project proposals to the selection panel.
• Due Diligence: This phase involves an evaluation of all shortlisted candidates, which includes a thorough review of their proposed project plans, budgets, timelines, and the overall feasibility of the ideas they presented.
• Contracting: The final stage involves the successful applicants entering into a contractual agreement with the project partners.

Interested creatives should apply here before 24 January.

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