Photos: Next Africa
The founders of a new $40 million investment fund aim to start investing in film, television and podcast content produced in Africa by early 2025.
Entertainment company Next Narrative Africa, alongside Nairobi-based creative economy-focused advisory group Heva, plans to raise and invest $30 million in equity financing. The rest will be made up of grants. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and USAID’s Prosper Africa initiative are the fund’s first backers.
Akunna Cook, Next Narrative Africa’s CEO, said the fund will stipulate that 60% of production for each project takes place in Africa, though the directors could be Africa residents or from the diaspora. “We intend to create jobs and expand the continent’s capacity for participating in the sector,” she told Semafor Africa. Check sizes will range from $1 million to $5 million depending on the stage and needs of projects.
A particular focus of the fund is to advance a shift away from negative stereotypes in storytelling about Africans and people of African descent, especially women, said Cook.
African film has gained increased recognition on mainstream platforms in recent years, with the success of productions like The Black Book from Nigeria, and South African teen drama series Blood and Water. But filmmakers remain anxious about tightening budgets for African projects.
Next Narrative Africa’s fund is the latest in a handful of ventures looking to bridge the financing gap. Last November, Afreximbank said it was working to set up a $1 billion fund for African film.
