The Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF) has announced its first group of grantees, selected from more than 2,000 submissions across the world. The slate includes projects tied to Trevor Noah, Rapman, Mohamed Kordofani, the Esiri brothers, and Thuso Mbedu.

The announcement marks the fund’s first move from setup into actual project development.

How the Next Narrative Africa Fund Backs African Stories

In an effort to bring together filmmakers and industry stakeholders connected to the fund, Amplify Africa hosted a private dinner in Los Angeles last June. The event created early access and direct conversations around how the fund would engage creators.

The fund operates with a $50M structure split between development support and commercial investment. NNAF focuses on projects from Africa and the diaspora, with attention on ownership and long-term value. It aims to build strong funding pipelines and retain ownership of African stories in African hands as they reach global markets.

The fund has shifted from the script development stage to advancing selected projects into production and distribution, a move that allows it to address gaps in the financing and scaling of African content.

Full List of Next Narrative Africa Fund Grantees

The selected projects span different genres and countries, with each tied to known filmmakers or emerging voices.

Beyond Day Zero (South Africa) — an action story about rebellion against a powerful elite (Trevor Noah, Amy Jephta)

Innocent (Nigeria) — a whodunnit mystery set in Lagos, Nigeria (Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri)

Skunk (South Africa) — a heist drama tied to land and identity (Thuso Mbedu)

Untitled Political Thriller (Sierra Leone/UK) — a political thriller about a young soldier trust into power (Rapman)

United States of Africa (Ghana) — a Cold War-era spy thriller set in newly independent Ghana (Carl Kwesi Earl-Ocran)

Bako (Nigeria) — a sci-fi romance set in a divided future society (Boma Iluma)

The Return (Ghana) — a comedy-horror about a disrupted cultural getaway (Zoey Martinson)

About Love & September Laws (Sudan) — a political drama set during legal and social change (Mohamed Kordofani)

Jollof Wars (West Africa) — a fantasy cooking story built around competition and culture (Hamid Ibrahim)

Why Data Plays a Key Role in the Process

The fund partnered with Parrot Analytics to support how projects are assessed. The partnership brings audience data into early development decisions. This helps the fund evaluate demand, track genre performance, and understand how similar content performs across markets. It also gives producers clearer signals on positioning before production begins.

What Happens Next

With development underway, the focus now shifts to how these projects are executed and distributed. The slate already shows how structured funding, industry backing, and clearer selection methods are starting to shape project development across African film and television.