Africa Film Finance Forum Unlocks Path to $20 Billion Film Economy

The Africa Film Finance Forum (AFFF) returns with renewed urgency and clarity of purpose, committed to unlocking the full economic potential of Africa’s film industry.

Scheduled to take place from September 16–18, 2025, in Lagos, Nigeria, AFFF is shaping the roadmap for a $20 billion Pan-African film economy, rooted in storytelling, powered by finance, and scaled through industry.

With the theme “Pan-African Film Economy: Building a $20B Industry for 1.4 Billion People”, the forum brings together a cross-section of industry stakeholders, filmmakers, investors, policymakers, financiers, distributors, and tech innovators to design the systems that will transform creativity into structured capital growth.

“Storytelling began in Africa. Our myths, oral histories, and traditions have always been foundational,” said Mary Ephraim-Egbas, Convener of AFFF. “But to compete globally, Africa must move beyond telling stories to monetizing them by industrializing the film sector and positioning African content as both heritage and high-value export.”

For decades, African stories have shaped culture, inspired movements, and connected communities. Yet, the continent’s film economy remains largely informal and undercapitalized. AFFF is changing that narrative by building pipelines that link creative talent to financial tools, policies, and platforms.

Key features of AFFF 2025 include:

Investor’s Room & Deal Table: Curated spaces for pre-qualified film projects to meet financiers and pitch for funding.

Certified Finance Training for Banks & Investors: Equipping financial institutions to understand film as a viable asset class.

Policy Roundtables: Engaging government leaders on aligning film with national development strategies and GDP growth.

CINETOUR: A campaign spotlighting Africa’s diverse film locations as engines for tourism and investment.

FilmTech Track: Showcasing innovations driving efficiency, transparency, and scale in production and distribution.

“Unlocking a $20B industry starts with recognizing film as infrastructure—creative, economic, and strategic,” said Bolaji Abimbola, Co-Chair of the AFFF PR and Strategic Communications Committee.

“AFFF isn’t just about films; it’s about jobs, exports, digital platforms, and policy shifts that make growth inevitable.”

“This is Africa’s creative century,” added Clarina De Freitas, fellow Co-Chair. “Our stories are our leverage, but only when matched with financing, distribution, and institutional credibility.”

From informal markets to cinema screens, and from mobile streaming to cross-border co-productions, AFFF is focused on building a Pan-African film ecosystem—not one led by extractive interests, but by Africans who understand the value of their narratives and the necessity of owning their industries.