Afreximbank appoints One Street Studios to help manage $1 billion Pan-African film fund

African Export-Import Bank has appointed One Street Studios as co-general partner of a Pan-African film fund targeting up to US$1 billion in investments, as the lender steps up efforts to develop Africa’s film and creative industries and position the continent as a global hub for audiovisual production.

The appointment, announced on Wednesday through Afreximbank’s development impact investment arm, the Fund for Export Development in Africa, comes just over a year after the Pan-African Film Fund was launched under the bank’s Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme. The fund will invest across the film, television and immersive media sectors, providing equity, quasi-equity and structured financing to projects with international distribution potential.

“The partnership between FEDA and One Street Studios is most timely and strategic as it serves as a crucial bridge uniting the diaspora with geographic Africa, but also empowers our creative economy to take full ownership of our narratives, enabling us to produce what we consume and consume what we produce,” Afreximbank President George Elombi said in a statement.

The bank said the fund would prioritise export-oriented productions and support the broader audiovisual value chain by financing content development, production studios, post-production infrastructure, digital streaming platforms and distribution networks, while working with studios, distributors and streaming services to build commercially viable projects.

“Africa’s creative industries are entering a defining moment,” said Lavaille Lavette, chief executive officer of the Pan-African Film Fund and managing partner at One Street Studios. “Through the Pan-African Film Fund, we will mobilise long-term capital that supports creators, strengthens production capacity, and builds sustainable global distribution pathways for African storytelling.”

Emmanuel Assiak, chief executive officer of FEDA, said the initiative would provide African storytellers with access to long-term investment while expanding their reach in international markets. “African storytelling carries extraordinary cultural depth and universal relevance.

Through the Pan-African Film Fund, FEDA is enabling creators to produce world-class content while connecting them with global audiences and long-term investment capital,” he said.

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