Afreximbank dangles $1bn fund for artists
Malawian artists are set to benefit from a $1 billion fund which African Import and Export Bank (Afreximbank) plans to launch next year to boost the creative industry in Africa.
The fund, according to Kanayo Awani, the bank’s vice-president, is targeted at film production to accelerate the growth of the arts sector.
Speaking on Thursday at the opening of the 2023 Creative Africa Nexus (Canex) Summit being held as part of the Third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2023) in Cairo, Egypt, she said the fund will oversee film financing, co-finance with large studios and finance African filmmakers, producers and directors of film projects across the continent.
Awani said the fund has seen an increase of financing it was making available to the creative sector from $500 million.
She said in the pipeline is over $600 million in film, music, visual arts, fashion and sports deals the bank will finance.
Said Awani: “The very first film we financed recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. But the bank has several in the pipeline from Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, which should be on streaming platforms in 2024.”
She said currently the film and audiovisual industries in Africa accounted for $5 billion of the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employed about five million people, with the potential to create over 20 million jobs and generate $20 billion in revenues annually.
On his part, African Union commissioner for trade and industry Albert Muchanga said the creative sector in Africa was rapidly growing and making a significant contribution; hence, it needs financial support.
“I reaffirm my belief that the African creative industry has huge potential to be a source of employment and revenue to create the Africa we want—revenue from intra-African trade as well as revenue from the rest of the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malawian creative Nthangwanika Kondowe has shared her insights at Canex on matters surrounding streaming farms in the African music ecosystem.
She wrote on her X, formerly Twitter,: “I am honoured and excited to speak at this year’s summit. As a huge advocate for digital access to [Malawian] music, I am happy to engage in conversation around streaming farms in the African music ecosystem and how we can mitigate its impact.”
Canex is an Afreximbank initiative to support Africa and the African Diaspora’s creative and cultural industries by providing financing and non-financing instruments to boost growth.
The seven-day Canex Summit in Cairo is intended to further develop conversations and provide additional business-to-business and business-to-government opportunities.
