Netflix has fallen in love with Nigeria. It is not hard to see why. Nigeria’s film industry generated $7.2bn in 2016, while South Africa’s music industry should hit revenues of $170m in 2020. For a change, it cuts both ways. Apple Music is burrowing into Nigerians’ pockets, just as Naija Beats musicians are making millions from the US market.
“We need to showcase our African culture and history – this is the right time,” Blessing Amidu, a backer of Nigeria’s feature-length animated film Lady Buckit & The Motley Mopsters tells The Africa Report.
Beneath the blue-chips, as ever, things are much harder. Funding efforts remain bureaucratic and top-down, but they are arriving. In January 2020, Afreximbank announced a $500m credit facility to support cultural and creative products. Nairobi-based HEVA was Africa’s first fund dedicated to creative and cultural goods and services. It has
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