IFAAP sues for access to AFREXIM Bank’s USD$1 billion African Film Fund

By Editor

THE International Federation of African Audiovisual Professionals (IFAAP) has called on Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) to ensure that the real stakeholders of African cinema have access to the USD$1 billion African Film Fund.

It will be recalled that on November 29, 2022 in Abidjan, Cote d’ Ivories, during The Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND) which held from November 25 – 27, 2022, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah, had announced a funding package of USD$1 billion dedicated towards supporting Africa’s creative industries. This new initiative doubled the USD$500 million facility launched in 2020. Since then AFREXIM Bank has organized yearly events in different parts of the continent with a special section called CANEX and dedicated to the creative industry.

Years after the announcement of the innovative initiative, the problems of African creative industry not only remain the same, but appear to have multiplied. Distribution infrastructure remains dilapidated… Online space remains dominated by global media giants, with filmmakers struggling to raise production funding and myriads of other problems, a statement from IFAAP’s communication officer, Mukale Mshelia, said, noting, “IFAAP recognizes the fact that the fund is neither Aladdin’s lamp nor a magic wand but we, the stakeholders, must still ask. Who exactly is accessing this fund?”

IFAAP Secretary General, Madu C Chikwendu

According to IFAAP Secretary General and Nollywood Filmpreneur, Madu C Chikwendu, “In this day and age, Nero cannot continue to play the fife whilst Rome burns. We call on AFREXIM to ensure the money trickles down to those that need it most.”

AFREXIM is owned by African states, African financial institutions, non-African institutions and private investors

Mshelia said IFAAP has its headquarters in Ghana with regional offices in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Benin and Cameroon, adding, “It is the voice of African professionals in the film industry with a dual corporate and membership structure. IFAAP has an irrevocable commitment to the development of the audiovisual industry and the broader creative industries. It has a triple mandate to protect the interests of film professionals, contribute to the socio economic development of Africa and engage in relevant partnerships for the attainment of its objectives.”