African Film Investor Roundtable debuts with financiers in Cape Town
The first African Film Investor Roundtable brought funders, producers and experts to Cape Town, with the next meeting set for Lagos.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
The African Film Investor Roundtable made its debut in Cape Town this week, bringing together film financiers, investors, African producers and international industry specialists for a three-day gathering focused on backing projects from the continent.
The meeting ran from July 21 to 23 and was led by Steven Markovitz, founding CEO of Cape Town-based Big World Cinema, alongside HEVA Fund Managing Partner Wakiuru Njuguna. Markovitz is also executive director of the African Producers Accelerator, which grew into the roundtable.
Big World Cinema has been behind African festival titles including Omen, Tug of War and Rafiki. HEVA Fund, based in Nairobi, focuses on creative industries and, according to Deadline, has mobilized more than $40 million and invested in more than 500 creative businesses across East Africa.
What is the African Film Investor Roundtable?
The African Film Investor Roundtable is a meeting designed to connect investors already interested in African film with producers seeking finance-ready projects. Njuguna said the aim was to build cooperation among funders across different stages of capital.
Markovitz described the gathering as a major moment for African cinema, pointing to wider global attention on talent from the continent and more African finance becoming available for film.
The guest list included rising funders already active in the sector. Osahon Akpata, CEO of CANEX Creations Inc., attended after the Afreximbank Fund for Export Development in Africa’s intellectual property investment company recently invested in Clarissa, the Nigerian-produced drama by Arie and Chuko Esiri that was acquired by Neon.
Adekunle Adebiyi, executive director of investments at Lagos-based MBO Capital Management Limited, also joined the meeting. Deadline reported that MBO Capital has put more than $9 million into African film, supporting more than 42 film and television productions from Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa.
Other participants included representatives from the Ford Foundation, the Bertha Foundation, the Mastercard Foundation, South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation, the National Film and Video Foundation, and Business and Arts South Africa. Individual investors Tony Tabatznik and Wale Gbadamosi-Oyekanmi also attended, along with Oxbelly executive director Caroline von Kühn and Impact X Capital executive producer Erica Motley Dupuis.
The program mixed investor meetings with expert sessions. Phil Hunt, co-founder and CEO of Head Gear Films and Bankside Films, spoke about reducing risk across the film chain from development to distribution. Nadim Cheikhrouha, the Oscar-nominated producer of Four Daughters and The Voice of Hind Rajab, presented film finance case studies. Sandra Oyewole, partner and head of intellectual property and technology practice at DLA Piper Africa Nigeria, gave an overview of intellectual property finance in Africa.
The roundtable came out of the African Producers Accelerator, which Big World Cinema launched in 2025 with support from the Bertha Foundation. The accelerator is aimed at helping mid-career African producers build stronger companies and prepare projects for investors.
For its 2026 edition, the accelerator received more than 260 applications from 31 African countries. Six producers from the new group pitched in Cape Town, joined by five producers from the previous cohort. All 11 had completed a three-month program covering business strategy, financing structures and investor readiness.
The producers included Annemarie Du Plessis, producer of 2026 Rotterdam Tiger winner Variations on a Theme; Khalid Awad, co-producer of Cannes award winner Goodbye, Julia; Josh Olaoluwa, producer of One Woman, One Bra; and Mimi Bartels, producer of Netflix title Black Book.
Akpata praised the projects shown at the meeting and said he expected some to secure backing from CANEX Creations Inc. or other investors in the room.
The next African Film Investor Roundtable is scheduled for Lagos in November during the 2026 edition of CANEX WKND, a four-day event for creatives, investors and industry leaders from Africa and its diaspora.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.