The Africa Film Finance Forum (AFFF) has announced ambitious plans to develop a $20 billion Pan-African film economy, seeking to transform the continent’s largely informal and underfunded film sector into a structured, high-value industry.
This vision was shared in a statement by AFFF Convener Mary Ephraim-Egbas on Wednesday in Lagos, reported by Nairametrics.
“Storytelling began in Africa, our stories have shaped cultures, inspired movements, and connected communities. But for Africa to compete globally, it must move beyond telling stories to monetizing them,” Ephraim-Egbas said.
Despite Africa’s rich cultural heritage and creative talent, its film industry faces deep challenges, including fragmentation, lack of financing, poor infrastructure, and limited access to global distribution.
Nigeria’s Nollywood exemplifies this paradox.
While it is one of the world’s most productive film industries, generating about $6.4 billion annually and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, it also loses roughly $2 billion each year to piracy.
This situation reflects broader continental struggles where underinvestment and weak institutions hamper growth.
Even as demand for African content rises locally and global platforms show interest, scaling remains difficult due to limited capital, fragmented value chains, and insufficient policy frameworks.
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The upcoming AFFF 2025 event, set for September 16–18 in Lagos, aims to tackle these systemic issues by bringing together filmmakers, investors, policymakers, distributors, and digital innovators.
Their goal is to create systems that will turn Africa’s storytelling into a formal economic powerhouse.
Bolaji Abimbola, co-chair of AFFF’s Public Relations and Strategic Communications Committee, emphasized that unlocking the industry’s potential starts with recognizing it as strategic infrastructure.
Clarina De Freitas, fellow co-chair, added that African stories are a unique global asset but need solid investment, credible institutions, and scalable distribution networks to thrive.
“From informal street markets to cinemas and mobile streaming platforms, the goal is to build a Pan-African film ecosystem not one shaped by extractive external interests, but by Africans who understand the cultural and economic value of their narratives,” De Freitas said.
The 2025 forum’s theme, “Pan-African Film Economy: Building a $20 Billion Industry for 1.4 Billion People,” highlights a growing movement across Africa to leverage creative industries for inclusive economic growth.
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