Washington, Jun 03: In its strategy of helping Indian companies engaged in animation and multimedia services to expand into global markets, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has decided to invest upto USD 3 million in a Hyderabad-based leading animation services company. IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, would invest the said amount in Dataquest Management and Communications Ltd, now DQ Entertainment Ltd, which provides outsourced and proprietary 2D/3D animation and multimedia services to North American and European production houses.
"This investment is part of our strategy to help innovative Indian companies expand into global markets, creating export earnings and employment," Dimitris Tsitsiragos, director of IFC's South Asia department, said. Mohsen Khalil, the World Bank Group's director for global information and communication technologies, said, "This project is an important initiative for the future development of India's animation industry."
He said the animation industry, which requires highly skilled and creative professionals, is increasingly outsourcing to developing countries. "India is well positioned with its sophisticated it and media industry to take advantage of this global opportunity," he said. "IFC's investment and presence will take our operations to the next level of technological advances by addition of the latest CGI/3D animation facilities," Tapaas Chakravarti, managing director and CEO of Dataquest M&C Ltd, said.
The industry, now valued at approximately USD 500 million, is expected to grow at 30 per cent annually for the next few years. The founding of animation schools throughout India and the government's support for the industry have further spurred its current growth. Bureau Report