The Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF) has announced it is working with Parrot Analytics on a first-of-its-kind African entertainment landscape study ahead of deciding its inaugural grantees.
Launched in late 2024, the Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF) is a $40 million commercial content fund paired with a $10M from non-profit Venture Studio and focused on African and Diasporan content.
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For NNAF, the partnership marks the final diligence layer before it activates its capital, to bring data-driven intelligence to the greenlight committee as it finalizes its inaugural slate of six to ten supported projects. The selection, chosen from 2,000 global submissions, will be unveiled in March.
It also positions NNAF as Africa’s first “Parrot-powered” investor, using the analytical firm’s predictive data to scientifically validate the thesis that African content is a globally undervalued asset class.
The partnership was announced by NNAF founder and CEO Akunna Cook and Parrot Analytics founder and CEO Wared Seger.
“For too long, the perceived risk of African content has been based on bias rather than data. This partnership with Parrot Analytics changes the conversation,” said Cook.
“We are not just funding stories; we are leveraging world-class analytics to prove that African narratives are a globally undervalued asset class. By combining this data with our $40M commercial fund and $10M venture studio, we are building infrastructure that delivers high yield returns by enabling smarter decisions that lead to entertainment content success.”
She added: “Africa offers an abundance of vibrant cultures and narratives, and global interest in these stories is surging. We are excited to be on the first lap of a race toward mass global adoption, following a trajectory akin to the explosive success of Korean content over the last decade.”
As part of the partnership, NNAF has commissioned Parrot Analytics to provide data for the first comprehensive entertainment Landscape Study on Africa to quantify the massive supply-demand gap in the African entertainment market.
While a 2025 study from the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth confirmed Black consumers control over $2.1 trillion in buying power, the new report will be the first to scientifically map how that influence converts into viewership for African content. By correlating this economic power with global viewership trends, NNAF will validate the thesis that African content is not just culturally significant, but a commercially viable sector ready for institutional scale.
“For too long, the perceived risk of African content has actually been a failure of measurement, not a lack of audience,” said Seger.
“By partnering with NNAF, we are closing that gap. We are bringing the same global demand measurement used by Hollywood’s biggest studios to the African continent, scientifically proving that these stories don’t just resonate locally – they have the power to travel globally. We are providing the critical intelligence layer that allows NNAF to deploy capital with confidence and industrialize the African creative economy. In doing so, we aren’t just providing analytics; we are validating an entire asset class.”
The co-branded landscape study highlighting the investment opportunities in African movies and series for the global investment and creative communities will be made public in March.
Among the data to be revealed is the global arbitrage opportunity associated with African film and TV investment, underpinned by a comparative analysis of the volume of African/Diasporan content produced vs. global demand for that content, answering questions relating to where the content is being watched, and which platforms are leading the way in distribution.
Key areas of interest for NNAF, which will be covered in the report, include measurement of the travelability of content; the “culture flywheel”; film & TV comparative performance benchmarks; and genre and format opportunities.
NNAF joins a growing roster of media, entertainment and technology companies tapping into the analytics firm’s expertise, which include Disney, Amazon Prime Video, Warner Bros. Discovery, Asharq Network, MBC Group and OSN Group.
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