AniMints, the animation studio and creative support arm of Yaad Labs Ltd – A Jamaican Startup established in 2022, is on a mission to grow original Caribbean intellectual property (IP) through world-class illustration and animated storytelling.

Thanks to the Creative Caribbean Grant, AniMints successfully produced its first animated short series—“The Tipsy Turtles”—and laid the foundation for a new model of digital monetization powered by blockchain technology.

In simple terms, AniMints has taken the familiar model of content meets collectibles—like Pokémon’s relationship to trading cards or Disney’s cartoons to its merchandise—and applied it to the digital age. The studio plans to sell its main characters as digital collectibles (NFTs), giving fans the chance to own a piece of the show they love.

The grant funding was essential in completing the studio’s ambitious production goals: 30 character turnarounds, 101 detailed backgrounds, and over 640 seconds of animated content.

These assets form the creative backbone of AniMints’ business strategy—content that can now be directly monetized and leveraged to attract clients and collaborators across the globe.

With production wrapped and the series “export ready,” AniMints has already begun to see real results. The studio has received multiple client inquiries, secured paying animation contracts, and generated over $34,000 USD in NFT and digital collectible sales.

This early success demonstrates the commercial viability of blending Caribbean-inspired storytelling with cutting-edge blockchain distribution on platforms such as Twitter/X, Discord, and the Cardano Blockchain. Beyond immediate business outcomes, the project also had a meaningful social impact. The grant enabled AniMints to hire and fairly compensate six regional creatives, providing valuable income and experience in a challenging industry. Collaborations with other indie studios, such as Cmills Animation Studio, strengthened local creative networks and ensured production quality remained high.

Importantly, AniMints is already expanding its vision. Building on the success of The Tipsy Turtles, the studio is developing Anansi Tales, an animated series designed to preserve and modernize Afro-Caribbean folklore. By recording stories on the blockchain, AniMints hopes to both protect cultural heritage and ensure its longevity for future generations.

Since receiving the grant, Yaad Labs and AniMints have achieved significant milestones— raising capital, securing new funding, placing in the Top 10 of an international accelerator program, and signing a major collaboration with Draper University, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture networks.

The completion of The Tipsy Turtles marks a turning point for AniMints: the successful fusion of Caribbean creativity, digital innovation, and sustainable business strategy. With a proven model and a growing audience, AniMints is poised to make the region’s next great cultural export—one animated frame at a time.

Trinidad and Tobago is the home of Carnival- the Mecca as they say, but to date, there is no major carnival mas production facility locally, to cater to the needs of thousands of revelers who take to the streets of the city, annually.

Beyond local shores, Trinidad and Tobago’s designers and other creatives participate in the carnival industries of many other carnival escapes around the region and internationally. With that in mind, a ground-breaking training and development programme called ‘Carnival Campus’ has been created.

Launched on July 22nd, the programme is the brainchild of The Lost Tribe creative director, Valmiki Maharaj. He says the aim is to bolster local capacity in Carnival costume production, addressing the critical need for skilled artisans in Trinidad and Tobago’s thriving Carnival industry.

Welcoming a cohort of trainees, keen to hone their skills in mas-making and the business of Carnival, ‘Carnival Campus’ is offering an intensive and immersive 10-day incubator programme which will ultimately facilitate the transference of knowledge from seasoned mas-making veterans to a new generation of producers. It will focus on specialized skills like feather-work and wire bending and offer support to local producers in finding employment within Trinidad and Tobago and possibly in other regional Carnivals.

THE ROLL OUT

“By investing in our local talent, we are not only empowering individuals with valuable skills, but also strengthening our cultural heritage and reducing our reliance on external resources,” said Maharaj. “This programme will ensure that the artistry and craftsmanship of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is nurtured, developed and retained for decades and centuries to come,” he added.

The unique Trinidad and Tobago style of Carnival has gained international recognition, influencing celebrations from Miami to Tokyo. The TRIBE Group alone caters to over 15,000 masqueraders across its four Carnival bands annually, requiring the intricate production of thousands of multi-component costumes. Despite a significant portion of production remaining local, the sheer scale presents challenges, often necessitating outsourcing to foreign producers.

Carnival Campus has been made possible in part through funding from UNESCO under the Creative Caribbean project and with the Financial Contribution of the European Union and the Support of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States.