A $1 billion African Film Fund is being developed with the goal of launching in 2024 to support the continent’s film industry, according to a statement released on Friday by the African Export-Import Bank, or Afreximbank.
At the ongoing intra-African trade in Cairo, Egypt, Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President of the Intra-African Trade Bank at Afreximbank, made this announcement.
Speaking at the opening of the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023), which included the 2023 CANEX Summit, Awani stated that the fund would be in charge of overseeing film financing, co-financing with major studios, financing African filmmakers, and funding producers and directors of films across the continent.
She announced that the Bank would be providing US$1 billion in funding to the creative sector during Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND) 2022, up from US$500 million, and that the Bank currently had over US$600 million in deals in the pipeline for deals in the visual arts, music, film, fashion, and sports.
“The first movie we funded debuted at the Toronto Film Festival recently,” Awani stated. “The Bank has multiple films in development from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria that should be available on streaming services by 2024.”
With the potential to create over 20 million jobs and generate US$20 billion in revenue annually, the film and audiovisual industries in Africa are acknowledged to have contributed US$5 billion to the continent’s GDP and employ five million people. Awani stated that the industry faced a number of difficulties, such as tough financing restrictions and copyright violations brought on by lax copyright laws, lax enforcement, and low public awareness.
African creative and cultural products frequently struggle to gain exposure and access to international markets due to deficiencies in infrastructure and technology, capacity issues, a shortage of skilled professionals, and limited market access and international exposure.
Celebrity actor of Ghanaian descent Boris Kodjoe previously discussed the ways in which African creativity has impacted business, sports, music, fashion, art, design, social consciousness, and television. He claimed that the West’s long-lasting exploitation of black creativity had negative repercussions and that, despite appreciation for black excellence, Africa continued to face difficulties in its branding because of the outside world’s perception fueled by the traditional media’s portrayal of the continent’s poverty, hunger, civil wars, and migration.
According to Kodjoe, Africa was a major contributor to supplying the world’s need for culturally relevant global content. The young population and strong connectivity of the continent encouraged studios, networks, promoters, and brands to invest in innovative ways to connect with a wide range of consumers. Diversity in TV series and movies outperformed other programming by thirty percent, and Afrobeats was sweeping the world’s broadcast infrastructure. It was estimated that by 2030, Africa could account for up to 10% of the $200 billion global export of creative goods, or 4% of the continent’s GDP.
African economies are benefiting greatly from the creative sector, which is expanding quickly and contributing significantly to inclusive growth and sustainable development, according to H.E. Albert M. Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union Commission, who also spoke.
“I reaffirm that I think the African creative industry has enormous potential to be a source of employment and revenue to create the Africa we want—both from international and intra-African trade.”
Ambassador Muchanga emphasized the importance of investing in international property rights protection as she urged African countries to harness their immense potential into plans and projects that produce real outcomes.
Through the provision of funding and non-financing instruments to promote growth, Afreximbank launched the CANEX initiative to support the creative and cultural industries in Africa and the African Diaspora.
Expanding dialogues and offering more business-to-business and business-to-government opportunities are the goals of the seven-day CANEX Summit. Distinguished South African producer Oskido will host a CANEX Music Factory, where songwriters and beat makers will be able to record their work, in addition to a fashion show showcasing a variety of colorful and eye-catching designs from throughout Africa and the Diaspora.
Afreximbank established the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) program with the goal of promoting the expansion and growth of the creative and cultural sectors throughout Africa and the diaspora. The initiative offers a variety of financial and non-financial tools and services with the goal of promoting investment and trade in Africa’s creative industry.
From November 9th to November 15th, 2023, IATF2023, Africa’s largest trade and investment fair, will be open.