A new United Nations Development Programme-backed (UNDP) accelerator is providing eight Cape Town-based animation studios with access to finance and markets.
A still from Aau's Song, part of the Star Wars: Visions anthology. Courtesy of Lucasfilm (Image supplied)
Africa’s creative industries could be a major source of jobs, but studios struggle to access the finance and markets they need to grow.
According to the International Finance Corporation, in Africa alone, the creative economy could contribute 20 million jobs and $200bn in economic value by 2030.
Yet despite this potential, emerging markets currently receive less than one per cent of global financing for the creative economy.
This highlights the significant gap between the sector’s potential and the resources available to support its growth.
Access to commercial pathways
Part of the UNDP’s timbuktoo Creatives Hub, the accelerator is run with support from the Government of Japan, in partnership with Digital Frontiers and Triggerfish Foundation.
"African animation studios have the talent and the stories; what they’ve often lacked is structured access to the commercial pathways that turn creative potential into sustainable businesses,” says Todd Malone, CEO of Digital Frontiers.
“Through Triggerfish Foundation’s work across the continent, we’ve seen firsthand how the right mentorship and market access at the right moment can be the difference between a studio staying small and a studio scaling,” says Carina Lücke, director at Triggerfish Foundation.
Selected studios
The selected studios are:
- Bugbox Animation, a studio with a track record spanning more than 20 years. Co-founders Candice and Tim Argall won the Animation du Monde pitch competition during the 2015 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market in France for their series Musi & Cuckoo.
- Fancy Horse Studios won the Lanzendorf PaleoArt Prize for its Permian Waterhole installation at Karoo Origins: the Fossil Centre. A founding member of AnimationSA, Colin Payne recently won a National Arts Council Award for Karoo Origins. Co-founder of the Cape Town International Animation Festival, Dianne Makings produced Aau’s Song for Star Wars: Visions.
- Goon Valley, an animated explainer company expanding into original content. Co-founder Nadia Darries co-wrote and co-directed Aau’s Song, as part of the Star Wars: Visions anthology, sharing its Annie Award for Best Music: TV/Media.
- Lucan, the production company behind the Emmy- and Annie-nominated Moremi, from the Disney+ anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire.
- Led by Craig Parker and Jacques Bock, Motif Studios brings 15 years of animation and VFX experience. Their 50+ combined credits include Mad Max: Fury Road, as well as Surf Sangom from the Disney+ anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire.
- Pixcomm, which won the NHK Japan Prize for and produced 10 seasons of Jabu’s Jungle, distributed across more than 40 countries. Founder Nic Buchanan co-founded the hit soccer comics and animation franchise Supa Strikas and has the rights to produce an animated biography of Nelson Mandela.
- Sparks Flew Development Studio specialises in storyboarding and script development. Co-founders Julia Smuts Louw and Daniel Snaddon collaborated on Magic Light Pictures' International Emmy-winning adaptation of The Smeds and the Smoos. Other clients include Lucasfilm, Netflix and Sony. Their original feature, Spike, is in production with Submarine and Diprente.
- Studio Bo, an animation and games company that has been adding original IP to their usual output of explainer videos and interactive animation. Their upcoming pilot, Animal Therapy, is a cosy musical series that aims to help young children understand their emotions better through beautiful visuals and catchy songs.
Important source of jobs and growth
“Africa’s creative industries can be an important source of jobs and growth, but only if creative businesses can attract investment and compete in global markets,” says Gloria Kiondo, deputy resident representative, UNDP South Africa.
“When African studios own the stories they create, more of that value stays on the continent. This accelerator helps studios make that shift, from producing content for others to building companies that investors can back.
She adds, “Japan, home to one of the world’s leading animation industries, is a natural partner in that effort, and we look forward to building stronger ties between the Japanese and South African animation sectors.”
Designed to support growth-stage, founder-led animation studios, the eight-month accelerator will strengthen these studios’ commercial readiness, market positioning and pathways to market, investment and sustainable growth.
The accelerator kicked off with studio representatives attending Durban FilmMart from 9-12 October 2026. The studios will connect with their one-on-one mentors at MIP Africa next week in Cape Town.
The accelerator, which also features masterclasses, forms part of the UNDP timbuktoo Creatives Hub, a pan-African platform designed to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship across Africa’s creative economy.
The United Nations Development Programme works in more than 170 countries and territories to help eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilient nations.
In South Africa, UNDP partners with government, civil society, the private sector and communities to advance inclusive growth, innovation, youth empowerment and sustainable development aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
