Dubai: Tecom Investments on Saturday released more details on Dubai Internet City’s (DIC) Innovation Hub and Dubai Design District’s (d3) Creative Community.
According to a statement, DIC’s Innovation Hub will focus on innovation across technology, new media, smart education and sciences, and phase one will be delivered in the first quarter of 2017. It will nurture talent and creativity, and foster the continued growth of the region’s start-up and entrepreneurial landscape.
The d3 Creative Community will cover a total area of 1 million sq ft. within D3, and act as an incubator for emerging local designers and artists, as well as providing a natural home for art galleries and studios looking to engage directly with the region. Phase one of the development will be delivered in 2016.
The combined total investment allocated towards TECOM Investments’ new innovation focused initiatives is Dh4.5 billion. This will fund the development of infrastructure for d3’s Creative Community, DIC’s Innovation Hub, incubator and creative spaces in all of the company’s communities, and will stimulate start-ups and entrepreneurs through the creation of a start-up fund and competition. TECOM Investments’ new start-up fund and competition will be launched by Q2 2015.
Over the next decade, TECOM Investments’ ambition is for this package of initiatives to increase the workforce located in its business communities from 70,000 to 100,000; grow its business partner base from 4,500 to 10,000; and to provide an additional 10 million sq ft. of commercial office space, resulting in a total of 16 million sq ft. of dedicated space across a number of Dubai’s prime business locations.
