The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced a $ 1 billion fund to support Africa’s film industry.
Set to be launched in 2024, the Fund would oversee film financing, co-finance with large studios, finance African filmmakers, and finance producers and directors of film projects across the continent, said Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Bank, at Afreximbank.
Mrs. Awani made the announcement at the 2023 CANEX Summit held as part of the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) in Cairo.
“The very first film we financed recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival,” she said, adding that “the Bank has several in the pipeline from Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, which should be on streaming platforms in 2024.”
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Africa’s burgeoning film and audiovisual industries account for $5 billion of the continent’s GDP and employ an estimated five million people.
With financial and regulatory challenges aside, the industry could generate more – potentially $20 billion in revenue and create 20 million jobs, according to the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI).
