Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties, issued a direct challenge to global content creators at the 1 Billion Followers Summit on January 13, 2025 — promising to personally fund any idea bold enough to elevate Dubai's image and drive real change.
Alabbar Calls for a "Creatively Genius" Dubai Campaign
Speaking at the summit, held across Emirates Towers, the Museum of the Future, and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Alabbar made his offer unmistakably clear.
"Ultimately build an amazing and creatively genius one year campaign. No man should speak to me without receiving an unbelievable gift for their beautiful minds. Pump me up — I as a person love my city a lot and will like to do it for Dubai," he said. "If you give me a good idea, I will write the cheque."
The 1 Billion Followers Summit, held under the theme "Content for Good," brought together 15,000 content creators, 420 speakers, and 125 industry leaders to explore how digital storytelling can serve a positive global purpose.
Two Concrete Challenges for Content Creators
Alabbar laid out two specific challenges he wants creators to tackle.
The first is a year-long creative campaign to grow Downtown Dubai's monthly footfall from 150 million visitors to 200 million. He noted that Dubai Mall is currently the most visited destination on the planet — not just annually, but on a monthly basis — and believes the right content campaign can push that figure even higher.
The second challenge is a global campaign focused on affordable housing. "I need someone to make a global campaign for me — this is to trigger and engage opinion makers, technologists, and others to address this critical issue," Alabbar said. "This means you should be good to people — but what have you done? I am challenging each of you."
Funding Ideas That Change the World
Alabbar's proposals reflect a broader philosophy: that the right idea, backed by capital and platform, can shift public conversation on issues that matter. His readiness to personally write cheques underscores his confidence in Dubai's position as a hub for innovation and creative talent.
The challenge is open to anyone with the vision to meet it — and according to Alabbar, the reward will be equally bold.
