Africa’s entertainment industry has experienced remarkable growth within the last decade. The talent and creativity flowing from African creatives is now more than ever being appreciated by global audiences. Today, Nigeria’s Nollywood, which is the leading light of Africa’s entertainment industry, is the second-largest movie producing industry in the world. 

This growth is not from the blues. Africa has always been the home of talents, ingenious creativity, and intriguing storytellers but had very little support and springboard for growth. Then came MultiChoice through the Africa Magic platform, which has been a major enabler for the recent growth in the industry. 

MultiChoice has not only been a platform for showcasing content of African creatives but it has also been a hub for talent discovery, project funding, and celebration of creative excellence. Having been part of the success story of the present generation of African creatives, MultiChoice is also very passionate about securing the future of the industry through its novel initiative called MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF). 

Established in 2018, MTF is a shared-value initiative that provides a platform for young creatives to develop their talent and grow their business acumen. “This initiative is hinged on a tripod of programmes that educate and connect young creatives across the continent. There’s the MTF Portal which is an online interactive space that connects creatives with opportunities. Through the portal, a young scriptwriter in Zambia can connect with a producer in Nigeria for a collaborative effort on a project,” says MTF Director West Africa, Atinuke Babatunde. 

“There’s also the MTF Masterclasses which aims to further develop the technical skills of young industry creatives in cinematography, audio, and storytelling to improve the quality of local productions. Then, we have the MTF Academy which is a 12-month theoretical and practical training programme which specializes in various aspects of filmmaking like cinematography, editing, audio production, and scriptwriting among many others” she added. 

Notably, the MTF West African Academy has trained over 60 filmmakers, who have gone to set up production companies and produced more than 200 works including short films, movies, series, documentaries, and commercials among many others for platforms such as Showmax, Africa Magic, the Honey Channel, DStv, etc. 

Beyond investing in talented creatives, MultiChoice continues to celebrate their creative entrepreneurship on various platforms. For instance, at the just concluded 8th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, five movies by the MTF class of 2020 were nominated in the MTF category. On the list was ‘Nyau' by the Zambian quartet of Masuzyo Mwale, Cosmas Ngandwe, Abel Ngoma and Edward Sakala, 'Oko K3 Akueteh' by Ghanian duo of Christine Boateng and Eric Okyerefo; 'Engaito' by Uganda’s Daisy Masembe; 'Rebirth' by Kenya’s Brian Ontiri and 'Bride Untangled' by Nigeria’s Abisola Aboaba. Daisy Masembe’s Engaito won the award in the category. 

Besides that, at the just concluded Young Filmmakers Day during the 8-day Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) celebrations, the MTF screened movies produced by students and alumni of the MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy, with several young filmmakers and theatre art students in attendance as well as got one of Hollywood’s finest Producers to give a Masterclass on steps and rules to quality film directing and pitching. This was followed by a script writing Masterclass by South African Script Writer and Director, Neo McCarthy. 

Moving forward, MultiChoice has said it will not relent in its role as a frontline promoter of African creatives. At the Young Filmmakers' Day, MultiChoice announced the opening of entry for the MTF class of 2023. In addition to the hands-on training that all students will receive during the programme, the company said successful applicants will also get enhanced training experience from the Academy’s partnerships, which include the New York Film Academy (NYFA), the Henley Business School, Dolby and Canon. 

Africa is home to over 845 million young people, majority of whom are ardent followers of the entertainment industry. Among them are also creatives who are pursuing careers in the industry. With MultiChoice’s investment in this category of the population, the future of entertainment on the continent is that of enormous growth and economic potential.