Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife Group and Logical African Partners, the African investment arm of the French film and television financier Logical Pictures, have launched a $50m fund for African feature films, Variety reported late on Wednesday 11 November, Los Angeles time. The Afro Film Fund was signed in Paris on Tuesday 10 November in the presence of France’s culture minister, Catherine Pégard, according to the report.
The fund aims to back about 35 films over eight years, an estimated four to nine a year, and expects to make its first disbursements late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2027. That is more than a year after the opening date Abudu gave in 2025.
Key facts
- Fund: Afro Film Fund, $50m, from EbonyLife Group and Logical African Partners
- Target: about 35 African films over eight years, an estimated four to nine a year
- Timing: signed in Paris on 10 November 2026; first disbursements expected in late Q1 or early Q2 2027
- Also signed: Abudu becomes global ambassador of the CNC’s Audiovisual Next Gen mentoring programme
What the fund will do
The fund will finance the development and production of films its backers describe as “commercially viable, culturally relevant and internationally competitive”, Variety reported. Its strategy targets audiences across Africa and the African diaspora, with selected films positioned for wider international release. The report did not say how the $50m is split between the partners, whether outside investors are involved, what form the money takes or what share of a budget the fund will cover.
Abudu said the fund “will address the critical need for structured financing for African filmmakers”. Pape Boye, vice-president of Logical African Partners, called it a “new chapter” for the industry and said the aim was “a sustainable financing platform that empowers African filmmakers”.
Divided evenly, $50m across 35 films comes to roughly $1.4m a title before fees or reserves. The partners have not published a ticket size.
The partners
Logical Pictures, founded in 2016, invests in film and television equity in France and abroad, and moved into Africa in 2024 with Logical African Partners. Boye, a production and sales executive, joined forces with the group in 2023 to launch Black Mic Mac, a production banner for African and Middle Eastern talent whose slate includes 3 Cold Dishes, a revenge thriller executive produced by Burna Boy.
EbonyLife, which Abudu founded and runs, spans film and television production, cinemas, training and digital distribution. Its most recent venture is EbonyLife Place London, a cultural hub for African and Black film and art, and its feature The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
The Paris visit produced a second agreement. Abudu signed with the CNC, France’s national film body, to support Audiovisual Next Gen, an 18-month programme that mentors 15 creative-industry professionals under 35. Announced at the Lumière Summit in September, it counts Netflix, RTL Group and Mediawan among its backers; EbonyLife now joins them and Abudu becomes its global ambassador. The first cohort, made up entirely of women, is due to be named at the end of January 2027. Pégard presented the two agreements as proof that France and its institutions are at the heart of the response to upheaval in the screen industries. Abudu also met President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, Angle360News reported, citing photographs and videos she posted on Wednesday.
A fund long in the making
The idea is not new. Interviewing Abudu in May 2025, CNN reported that the $50m Afro Film Fund would open at the end of that year, and a month later she described it to ThisDay as one of three initiatives EbonyLife was preparing to launch. The Paris signing gives the fund a partner and a timetable. On that timetable, the first money will reach filmmakers some 15 months after the original opening date.
Our reading
African film finance has drawn several large headline numbers this month. Afreximbank opened its CANEX meeting in Lagos with a $2bn creative-industries financing commitment, and Nigerian box office is running 30% ahead of last year. A dedicated film fund with a French co-investor is a different instrument from a bank facility: it can take risk on development and on films meant to travel beyond a home market. Whether it changes much will depend on terms the partners have not disclosed, starting with how much of each budget it covers and who is repaid first. The nearest regional benchmark, the Red Sea Fund, backed 30 projects from 916 applications across two cycles. The Afro Film Fund’s first slate, due next spring, is the evidence to wait for.
Sources
- Variety, EbonyLife Group, Logical African Partners launch $50 million fund to support African cinema (exclusive, 11 November 2026 PT)
- CNN, Mo Abudu on her vision for African cinema (2 May 2025; fund to open at the end of 2025)
- ThisDay, Mo Abudu: My mission is to elevate African storytelling (14 June 2025)
- Angle360News, Mo Abudu seals $50 million film deal in Paris (11 November 2026)