Next Narrative Africa, a Nigerian media production company, and HEVA Fund, a Kenyan-based investment firm, have launched a fund for African filmmakers.
The $40 million Next Narrative Africa Fund will invest in movies with budgets between $1 and 5 million per project, taking equity in some movies it funds. In other cases, it will simply provide grants.
It will raise and deploy $40 million over the next four years and is targeting a first close in Q1 2025 and a final close by the end of Q4 2025, with initial investments expected in the same year.
The Next Narrative Africa Fund offers a new avenue for investment as interest grows in Africa’s film and audiovisual industry. Nigeria’s Nollywood and South Africa’s film industries have dominated headlines, topped box office charts, and yielded significant returns to investors, with some Nollywood investors reporting 3x returns. Major players like Netflix have invested about $178 million in film content production on the continent since 2016.
The Next Narrative Africa Fund will invest in commercially viable projects with global appeal that are produced primarily in Africa. These projects will focus on themes like gender/racial equity, democracy/governance, climate, health, and inclusive economic growth.
“Africans on the continent and in the diaspora have always been at the forefront of shaping global culture. We’re excited to support creatives who aspire to not only entertain but also inspire and usher in a new narrative about Africa and people of African descent,” said Akunna Cook, CEO and Founder of Next Africa Narrative Africa.
The fund will be guided by an advisory board consisting of entertainment executives, filmmakers, film distributors and experts in narrative change, such as Darcy Heusel, Neon, Areej Noor of Statement Films, Dominic Buchanan of Home Team and Chin Okeke of Misan Partners. It will also make investments into the wider film & TV ecosystem including infrastructure.
