Amid ongoing subscriber losses and stock troubles, Netflix is making plans to boost its investment in Africa, so it can find new projects and creators.
Per NBC News, at Tuesday’s “See What’s Next Africa” event in Johannesburg, South Africa, the streaming giant announced new projects, development deals and more plans with Silverton Siege filmmaker Mandlakayise Walter Dube.
Dube, Kunle Afolayan Productions’ Junle Afolayan and EbonyLife Studios’ Mo Abudu all have “multi-project output deals” with the streamer, which means they will direct and produce various films and series for Netflix.
“There’s a curiosity across the world about locally-specific shows from Africa—great creative, great stories,” said Dorothy Ghettuba, Netflix’s director of local language series for Africa. “The world wants to know what’s happening in Africa”
It’s great to see Netflix putting its considerable weight behind Africa’s entertainment industry and investing in stories centered around the diaspora. Recent cuts and layoffs have had an adverse effect on people of color, so it’s nice to know our audience is still important to the network.
“Our investment in Africa continues to grow and we just continue to do more and more shows,” Ghettuba said. “We believe that Africa is one of the major creative centers for great storytelling that resonates around the world, so it only makes sense for us to increase our investment with our slate, with an even more exciting slate.”
In the wake of its massive success with Squid Game, Netflix has upped its commitment to Asian stories, specifically those from South Korea. Now it appears the streamer wants to do the same thing in Africa. Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya are crucial areas for Netflix originals, but the company is also acquiring content from Ghana, Zimbabwe and Uganda.
“That’s my ambition—a show from Africa that will have the momentous impact that Squid Game had on the rest of the world,” said Ghetubba.