Media Cymru Seed Fund 2023 launches

This week we launched applications for the first Media Cymru Seed Fund. We caught up with Senior R&D Producer and Fund Manager, Lee Walters, to find out more about the opportunity.

Tell us about the Media Cymru Seed Fund and why people should apply.

The Media Cymru Seed Fund is now open, and I would really encourage any creative freelancers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Cardiff Capital Region, and across Wales, to consider applying. There is funding of up to £10,000 available to successful applicants to develop ideas for new products, services and experiences in the media sector.

If you have an idea that you want to take from the very early stages through to being fully validated and have three to five months to research and develop (R&D) it with support from our partners at PDR and the Alacrity Foundation, then this could be for you!

Can you list some interesting examples of potential projects? 

For this funding round, we’re particularly interested in the areas of:

• Virtual production
• New formats and ways of creating content
• Gaming
• Immersive storytelling
• Bilingual production and
• New approaches to delivering the news.

We’re also keen to develop innovations which make production more environmentally sustainable; represent and reach underserved audiences; engage international markets and have the potential for long-term financial benefit.

What will funded projects have achieved by the end of their R&D?

By the end of the five months, project leads will have the foundations of a business plan, a financial forecast, and a pitch deck that will enable you to pitch to investors. Projects may also be eligible to apply for the Media Cymru Development Fund for their innovation.