Who is eligible and what are the criteria? How to apply for the UAE's creative industries grants

Freelancers and small and medium-sized enterprises in the creative industry can now apply online for grants from the UAE government as part of the National Creative Relief Programme.

Grants range from Dh15,000 to Dh50,000.

The programme was announced by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development (MCKD) on Thursday, May 14, as part of its efforts to keep the creative industries afloat amid the coronavirus crisis.

MCKD began accepting applications on Sunday, May 17, and received 108 applications, 86 from freelancers and 22 from SMEs, on the first day.

Applications can be completed on the ministry's website and will close on Sunday, May 24, after which they will be reviewed by a committee.

Who is eligible?

Freelancers, both citizens and non-citizens residing in the country, can apply. Those with expired residencies can still apply.

Income for individuals must come from independent contracts, so those employed full time with a salary are not eligible.

Individuals must also hold commercial licences from development departments or free zones and must be over 18 years old.

Licensed SMEs within the cultural and creative sector can apply. The companies must have started their formal business operations before 2019 and must have less than 10 employees.

What factors will be considered?

The committee will look at a number of factors, including the size of loss sustained by the applicants resulting from cancelled projects and contracts between March and May.

The applicant's projected cash flow for the period of May to July will also be evaluated, as will their current business sustainability plan and track record of production in the country since 2019.

What areas of creative and cultural industries are included?

The National Creative Relief Programme covers several segments of the cultural and creative industries, including those working in the following:

Visual and performing arts, including fine art, photography, crafts, digital art, music, festivals and exhibitions
Audiovisual and interactive media, including movies and video, television and radio, interactive media, and electronic games
Press and Literature, such as writing for books, magazines, newspapers, libraries and archives
Natural and cultural heritage organisations such as museums, monuments, historical places, natural heritage and cultural education
Design and creative services, including fashion, architecture, jewellery, culinary arts, advertising, interior and landscape design, software and technology design

The documents you will need

1. copy of work permit (for freelancers)

2. copy of Emirates ID

3. copy of passport with UAE residency visa (can be recently expired)

4. official bank statements for the last 6 months

5. copies of cancelled contracts / works / agreements that affected the income in March, April and May

6. copies of financial commitments in May, June and July

Currently, the fund is supported by the UAE government, but the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development is also accepting contributions from individuals, patrons and companies to raise more money for applicants. The contributions will be handled by the CSR UAE Fund, a federal authority for corporate social responsibility in the UAE.

More information is at www.mckd.gov.ae

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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