Africa’s film industry is looking beyond national borders for its next phase of growth, and the African Continental Free Trade Area could provide part of the framework needed to make that happen.
For years, African filmmakers have had to navigate separate markets, regulations and financing systems to take their work beyond their home countries. The AfCFTA offers a chance to change that by creating a larger market and setting common rules in areas that matter to the creative sector.
Its Intellectual Property Rights Protocol, adopted in 2023, includes provisions aimed at supporting creative and cultural industries and strengthening the protection of copyright and related rights.
That matters to filmmakers because a movie does not stop being a business once production ends. Its value depends on how well it can be protected, marketed and distributed in different markets.
The push for a more connected industry is also gaining financial backing.
The African Export-Import Bank, or Afreximbank, announced in May 2025 that it would spearhead an Africa Film Fund that could reach $1 billion. The fund is expected to support film production and distribution across Africa and the global African diaspora.
Afreximbank has already expanded its support for Africa’s creative industries, including film, music, fashion and other forms of cultural production.
The African Union estimates that the continent’s film and audiovisual industry contributes about $5 billion to Africa’s economy and supports around 5 million jobs.
For Rwanda, the discussion is particularly relevant. Kigali hosted the signing of the AfCFTA agreement in 2018, and the country has been seeking to grow its own creative industries.
A larger African market could give Rwandan producers more opportunities to work with filmmakers from other countries, attract financing and take local productions to audiences beyond Rwanda.
But the size of that opportunity will depend on what happens beyond the agreements themselves. Governments will need to implement the rules, while producers will need access to financing, skilled crews and reliable distribution channels.
For African filmmakers, the question is no longer only how to make more films. It is how to make films that can travel — and how to ensure more of the value they create stays within the continent.
