The Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF), a $50 million investment vehicle aimed at expanding film and television production across Africa and its diaspora, has unveiled its inaugural slate of development projects, featuring works from talent including Trevor Noah, Rapman, André Holland, Thuso Mbedu and filmmaking duo Ari and Chukwu Esiri.
The first round of projects – nine films and series selected from more than 2,000 submissions from 80 countries – outlines the ambition of the startup fund, which attempts to position African storytelling as a globally investable sector, rather than a niche cultural export.
NNAF, founded by former diplomat and media executive Akuna Kwok, operates through a hybrid structure that combines $40 million in commercial equity investment with a $10 million nonprofit venture studio focused on screenplay development and early-stage incubation. The model aims to address structural gaps in African screen industries, where development pipelines are often undercapitalized even as creative output rises across markets such as Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.
Among the main projects is After day zeroa South African action film produced by Trevor Noah through Day Zero Productions and written by Amy Jephta from a story by Toby and Kevin Schmutzler. The story revolves around the daughter of a water tycoon who joins a gangster in a town to challenge the powerful system that divides their community.
Another notable entry is The innocenta Lagos-set mystery from twin directors Ari and Chukwu Esiri, whose most recent film Clarissa US theatrical distribution was recently secured through Neon.
British-Ghanaian director Rapman, creator of the Netflix superhero film SubacellHe will direct and co-write an untitled political thriller set in Sierra Leone about a young soldier who unexpectedly comes to power after a coup. Actor André Holland has been attached as an executive producer on the TV spy thriller United States of AfricaThe film is set in Cold War-era Ghana, where a former soldier is recruited to build the continent’s first intelligence agency amid geopolitical intrigue.
Other projects in the lineup include the South African action drama Skunkstarring and co-written The woman king Thuso Mbidu breakthrough; Nigerian science fiction romance Bakutakes place in a society in the near future where aliens coexist with humans; Historical drama set in Sudan About love and the laws of September One of the winning books at the Cannes Film Festival Goodbye Julia; A genre-bending musical fantasy Jolov Warswhich imagines a magical cooking competition inspired by West African folklore.
Announcing the list, Cook said the selected projects reflect the Fund’s efforts to support commercially viable storytelling rooted on the continent.
“From over 2,000 entries, these nine projects from across Africa and the diaspora rose to the top because they are commercially compelling, culturally resonant, and globally relevant,” she said. “These projects represent more than $60 million of production in Africa. By combining world-class storytelling with major funding and data validation, we are shaping the African narrative, positioning it for global investment, and sustaining thousands of jobs and economic development across Africa.”
Cook launched the fund after a career spanning US diplomacy and media policy, arguing that Africa’s creative industries – powered by the youngest populations of any continent – represent one of the most overlooked growth sectors in global entertainment.
Over the past year, NNAF has assembled the infrastructure to deploy the fund, including appointing a 13-member advisory board covering production, finance, technology and talent management to guide project selection and investment strategy.
The organization has also partnered with Parrot Analytics to analyze global audience demand for African stories – part of a broader effort to demonstrate that the continent’s film and television industries represent what Cook describes as a “globally undervalued asset class.”
