A total of 26 startups from the Hub71 community have been selected to join the inaugural cohort, gaining access to a tailored three-month curriculum. Startups will gain access to Google’s global network of mentors, engineers, product leaders and Google Cloud credits. Top-performing startups will be eligible for up to $300,000 in credits, the highest tier of support available through the programme globally. They will also be considered for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) ecosystem tier credit allocations, further expanding their technical capabilities.

These startups, already based within the Hub71 community, have previously benefited from up to AED 500,000 in funding support, including AED 250,000 in in-kind support services, AED 250,000 in cash via a SAFE note and tailored mentorship. Now, through the Google for Startups Accelerator, they are gaining access to a powerful network of partners, technical experts and business development opportunities within the Hub71+ AI ecosystem, further strengthening their ability to scale globally from Abu Dhabi.

Alongside mentorship and technical resources, Google will provide early-stage founders with tailored playbooks and toolkits, as well as introductions to its investment arms and Alphabet’s wider network, opening doors to new funding and commercial opportunities.

The launch follows the strategic agreement signed in late 2024 to bring Google’s startup programme to Abu Dhabi, reinforcing a shared ambition to expand access to advanced digital infrastructure, attract top talent, and foster cross-border collaboration in AI.

Backed by the Government of Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Investment Company, Hub71 is growing its vibrant community of tech startups, investors, government, and corporate partners to ensure the availability of investment, commercial activities, and incentives from the public and private sectors.

For more information visit www.hub71.com and follow us on @Hub71AD #Hub71.

Melissa Oppenheim, the Creative Accelerator program manager, says in a press statement, “the ability to tell a powerful story can connect people despite geographic, linguistic, technological and even cultural boundaries”.

Sharing in the excitement, Can Emci, the corporate marketing director of Samsung Turkey (a brand selected to participate in the Creative Accelerator), says in a press release, “with the program, our objective is to show how Samsung Turkey may best execute impactful creative on Facebook. We have been increasing our investment on both paid media support and best in class creative executions on Facebook. The campaign will be a first in Turkey and we feel that it will be a great learning for all the emerging markets”.

Below please find examples of campaigns launched out of Creative Accelerator.

Nestlé Everyday! (India):

Business Goal:

• Nestle Everyday wanted to reach people in both the metro and rural areas in India.
• The objective was to drive trial and purchase of Everyday Dairy Whitener (a dairy creamer) by increasing consideration and purchase intent of the product.
• This is the first time Everyday will be positioning the brand against the category incumbent, milk, as a superior tea and coffee creamer, and it is the first time the brand used Facebook to develop a message using video and image story telling.

Creative:

• Creative Shop worked with the brand and its agencies, Publicis Delhi and Media Alliance, to develop creative based on peoples’ bandwidth strengths and device types.
• People accessing Facebook with lower bandwidths on feature phones and low-end smartphones received still images from Nestle Everyday.
• People with stronger bandwidth connections and more sophisticated devices they received videos in News Feed.

Targeting:

Two distinct demographics with different creative, optimized for device-type and bandwidth-strength:

• Metro-dwelling people 18+ on smartphones and stronger bandwidth connections are receiving beautiful cinemagraphs (or moving pictures).
• People dwelling in the rural NE part of the country are receiving stills that are more easily consumed on feature phones and lower bandwidth connections.
• Demo link of the live work, here.

Coca Cola (Kenya):

Business Goal:

• Coca Cola Kenya wanted to increase brand awareness to the people of Kenya through the message of happiness by sharing a Coke.
• Reach target audience in Kenya across multiple devices where feature phone is the most dominant.

Creative:

• Creative Shop partnered with Coca Cola Kenya’s creative agency, McCann in South Africa, to identify the best creative idea and Facebook execution to achieve these objectives. The creative idea needed to deliver in a market that is extremely diverse in terms of mobile penetration — across all device types and connection strength.
• The campaign begins by targeting the local audience on feature phones with beautiful images of local Kenyans smiling and doing the everyday things they love. We include a hashtag to encourage people to share their own #Kenyanhappiness.
• As people in Kenya begin uploading their own #Kenyanhappiness, Coca Cola will spread those messages of positivity to more people around the world – reaching Kenya’s neighboring countries with positive messages.

Targeting:

• The campaign targets Kenyans in addition to audience segments of Kenyan expats who live outside Kenya as well as frequent travelers to the country, spreading the message of positivity.