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"MBC Ventures" invests in Start-ups related to "Media & Entertainment" in MENA

Dubai, May 23^rd, 2012
MBC Group recently announced the establishment of "MBC Ventures", investing in start-ups related to "Media & Entertainment" in the Middle East and North Africa ("MENA") region.

Building on the growth of multimedia, online gaming and digital, and linked to the youth's great consumption of broadband & mobile connectivity and internet access in the MENA region; "MBC Ventures" decided to tap into this industry and support the largest growing population in the region with their innovative projects. Positioned as a Phase Seed- Round A funding arm, MBC Ventures' objective will be to invest in local talents and will further nurture individuals who will acquire global "best practices" and lead the future of this industry. In retrospect, those individuals will ultimately benefit from the Groups' offering and access to its multi platforms, be it onscreen, online, in print or even on ground.

As a start, "MBC Ventures" partnered with Falafel Games (www.falafel-games.com), a Massive Multiplayer Online game producer operating from the Middle East and China. Falafel Games has launched "Knights of Glory" فرسان المجد (www.forsangame.com), the first Arabic MMOSG (Massive Multiplayer Online Strategy Game) inspired by the Arab Conquests. Falafel Games is led by Vince Ghossoub and Radwan Kasmiya. Vince is uniquely positioned in the nexus of Chinese tech innovation and Middle Eastern culture while Radwan is the pioneering game creator in the Middle East, having created the first video game and CG animation there, and bestsellers such as "Under Ash" تحت الرماد, the first "First Person Shooter" video game in the Middle East, "Quraish" قريش (Real-Time Strategy), "Under Siege" تحت الحصار, "Road to Jerusalem" الطريق الى القدس, among many others.

The second venture is "Aranim Games", a social & mobile game developer based in Jordan creating social games inspired by Arabic & Middle eastern mythologies. Aranim Games was founded by Suleiman Bakhit, a TED fellow, best-selling comic book creator and games producer with a passion for creating characters and stories richly inspired by Arabic tradition, Suleiman is committed to providing the youth with inspiring role models and bring positive change to the Middle East through creative media.

The third investment, "SuperMama.me", is the first online parenting community and portal in the Arab World that was launched in October 2011 and based in Egypt. It provides trusted parenting information verified by specialists in different fields, in both Arabic and English.

It is headed and run by Yasmine El-Mehairy and Zeinab Samir who have won numerous competitions including, first place at NexGen completion; first place at Arabnet Startup Demo in Cairo; first place at eNnovation in Poland, and among the 20 finalists at Google, Cairo.

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About MBC Group
MBC Group is the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World which was launched in London in 1991 and later moved to its headquarters in Dubai in 2002. Over the past 20 years, MBC Group has grown to become a well-established media group that enriches people's lives through information, interaction and entertainment. Based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, MBC Group includes 11 television channels: MBC1 (general family entertainment), MBC2 and MBC MAX (24-hour movies), MBC3 (children's entertainment), MBC4 (entertainment for new Arab women), MBC Action (action series and movies), MBC Persia (24-hour movie channel dubbed in Farsi) , Al Arabiya (the 24-hour Arabic language news channel); Al Arabiya Al Hadath (an extension of Al Arabiya News Channel)； Wanasah (24-hour Arabic music channel) and MBC DRAMA coinciding with the Group's 20th anniversary, and offers 24/7 Arabic Drama; the Group also includes two radio stations: MBC FM (Gulf music), and Panorama FM (contemporary Arabic hit music); as well as O3 productions, a specialized documentary production unit. It has also several online platforms: www.mbc.net, www.alarabiya.net, and www.shahid.net, the first free VOD portal in the Arab world.

As of July 2011, seven of MBC Group's channels began to air in HD across the MENA Region; the channels are: MBC 1, MBC 2, MBC 4, MBC Action, MBC Drama, MBC Max and Al Arabiya News Channel.

For further information please contact:
Ruba Al Ayed
Group PR Manager
MBC Group
Mobile: +971 56 6038358
Email: ruba.alayed@mbc.net
Website: www.mbc.net

© Press Release 2012

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