Lagos – Africa’s paid television and online streaming market is projected to grow to USD 5.2 billion by 2030.
But market growth alone will not guarantee that African films reach audiences or generate sustainable returns for filmmakers.
New audience research across six African markets – Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa – points to the importance of both compelling storytelling and production quality.
In Rwanda, 56% of respondents cited a lack of interest in stories or themes as a barrier to watching local or African films, while in South Africa, 98% rated acting quality as important when choosing films, and 96% said the same of plot and technical quality.
These findings are presented in Made in Africa, Watched Globally?, a new study commissioned by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), through its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, and produced by Dalberg.
Covering Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, the study examines film distribution, audience development, financing and social impact.
It draws on 91 stakeholder interviews, a survey of 1,630 viewers across the six countries and five in-depth case studies.
The study explores how African films can better reach audiences and generate revenue, and how stories can shape public attitudes and encourage action on social issues including youth opportunity and aspiration, gender equality, governance and cultural identity.
While film production is growing, distribution and monetisation have not kept pace with the expansion of the wider market.
Understanding what audiences want
The research also sheds light on what audiences want from African films – and what makes them choose one film over another.
The findings point to a dual challenge for filmmakers: telling stories that resonate with audiences while delivering the quality viewers expect.
Preferences also vary within markets, reinforcing the need for more granular audience data to help the industry understand what different groups watch, where they discover films, and what they are willing to pay for.
Finding and accessing films remains another challenge. In Kenya, 52% of respondents said local and African films were difficult to find on mainstream platforms.
The study recommends better audience-data systems that track viewing preferences, spending and performance across distribution channels.
This would help producers, distributors and platforms make more informed decisions about what to commission, how to position films and how to reach different audiences.
YouTube has become an important route to audiences: 87% of Kenyan respondents and 98% of Senegalese respondents who stream films reported using the platform.
Yet reach does not necessarily translate into sustainable revenue for producers, as advertising earnings can be low and monetisation opportunities vary.
From 1 February 2027, YouTube will raise the eligibility thresholds for new channels seeking advertising and YouTube Premium revenue sharing through its YouTube Partner Program.
New applicants will need 1 000 subscribers and either 8 000 qualified watch hours in the previous 365 days or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the previous 90 days.
These changes do not affect channels already in the programme, although separate thresholds apply to revenue sharing from Shorts.
For emerging African film producers seeking to build audiences on the platform, the changes underline the importance of developing viable revenue models beyond advertising alone.
Reaching audiences requires investment beyond production
The study highlights how limited distribution infrastructure and affordability constraints can prevent films from reaching their potential audiences.
Africa has approximately one cinema screen per 787,000 people, compared with one per 8,700 in the United States.
Screens are also concentrated in major cities: around 90% of Egypt’s cinema screens are in Cairo and Alexandria, while more than 75% of Kenya’s fewer than 50 screens are in Nairobi.
Watching on a phone can provide an alternative, but data costs remain a barrier.
The study estimates that 1GB of mobile data costs the equivalent of 3.1% of monthly income across many African markets, above the global affordability benchmark of 2%.
In a 2026 audience survey by South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation, 31% of respondents described data for watching videos as expensive.
The report identifies opportunities to make film access more affordable and convenient, including advertising-funded services, offline downloads, video packages bundled with lower-cost data, and payment options integrated with mobile-money and telecommunications systems.
It also recommends using audience insights to test pricing, payment, and viewing packages that reflect different audiences’ needs and spending power.
Examples from the region demonstrate the potential of accessible distribution models.
In Senegal, Marodi TV has built an audience of 8.67 million YouTube subscribers and generated 4.6 billion views through a free, advertising-supported model.
In Kenya, platforms such as Viusasa have offered 24-hour subscriptions for as little as KES 10–20, allowing audiences to pay in small increments rather than commit to monthly subscriptions.
However, access alone is not enough.
The study also identifies a weakened ‘missing middle’ in film financing: platforms and aggregators able to pay licensing fees and commission mid-budget local productions for domestic and regional audiences.
The closure of Showmax in April 2026 and changes in commissioning by major international streaming services, including Amazon Prime Video, have further reduced some established routes to financing and distribution for African productions.
To address these gaps, the study recommends strengthening African-owned platforms and aggregators with established audiences, including through investment from public funders and development finance institutions.
Dedicated national and regional distribution funds could help cover marketing, subtitling, dubbing, and coordinated release campaigns.
Grants and loans on preferential terms could also support African-owned distribution companies to acquire and release more films, rather than concentrating support on individual productions.
Regional licensing arrangements and closer alignment under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could make it easier to release films across borders.
Speaking on the role of financing in strengthening Africa’s film industry and unlocking commercial opportunities across borders, Osahon Akpata, CEO of CANEX Creations Incorporated, said: “Africa’s film industry has demonstrated its ability to produce compelling stories that resonate with audiences around the world.
“The next priority is to ensure that this growing demand translates into sustainable businesses and greater economic returns for African creatives.
“This requires investment across the entire film value chain, alongside stronger African-owned enterprises capable of bringing local productions to regional and international markets.
“Through our Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, Afreximbank is working to bridge financing gaps, strengthen the commercial foundations of Africa’s creative industries and create opportunities for African businesses to participate more competitively in global markets.
“Our ambition is to build an industry where African creativity drives enterprise growth, generates employment and contributes meaningfully to intra-African trade.”
The experience of the Kenyan documentary, ‘Searching for Amani’, illustrates the challenge.
The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival in 2024 and was selected for approximately 100 festivals worldwide, including the Raindance Film Festival.
Despite this international visibility, the filmmakers struggled to finance community screenings in Kenya, limiting opportunities to bring the film directly to local audiences.
The experience highlights the importance of investing not only in making films but also in ensuring they reach the people they were made for.
Stories can also support public dialogue and action
Beyond their commercial potential, films can contribute to public dialogue and action on social issues.
The study identifies youth opportunity and aspiration, gender equality, governance, and cultural identity among the themes that resonated with surveyed viewers.
In Senegal, L’utilité et l’attachement, a documentary about unpaid compensation owed to communities displaced by a rail project, prompted presidential instructions to address their claims following a screening.
The documentary premiered in 2025 at the Visions du Réel documentary film festival in Nyon, Switzerland, and illustrates how films can create opportunities to bring public concerns to decision-makers.
The study recommends that funders and development partners invest in local screenings and discussions, alongside approaches to track changes in attitudes, behaviour or public decisions.
It also emphasises the importance of preserving filmmakers’ control over their stories, noting that editorial influence from funders – or the perception of it – can limit commercial sales and wider audience reach.
Victor Chudal-Linden, Project Manager at GIZ, emphasised the importance of evidence in deciding which films to commission, how to reach audiences and where policy support is needed: “Good decisions start with a clear picture – and a clear picture emerges from many data points.
“The value of this evidence lies in how industry players, policymakers and partners use it together to understand audiences, address distribution gaps and help African stories reach more people. Together, we screen brighter”.
Film industry leaders, investors, telecommunications and payment providers, and policymakers joined GIZ, Afreximbank and Dalberg at the official unveiling of the study at CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria.
The discussion explored opportunities for collaboration around the study’s findings and recommendations, including distribution, access to finance and industry data.
Download: Made in Africa, Watched Globally? Here: https://apo-opa.co/4iK9TiK.
