Akunna E. Cook, the founder and CEO of Next Narrative Africa, has launched a $50 million fund to finance film and television projects across Africa and the diaspora.
The fund is designed to support authentic African stories and bring them to global audiences at scale. As international interest in African narratives grows, Akunna E. Cook is leading a bold effort to redefine how the world sees Africa—and who gets to tell its stories.
Cook’s journey is a seasoned diplomat, lawyer, and strategist; her career has spanned global policy, economic advocacy, and now media investment—all anchored in one mission: economic empowerment and narrative sovereignty.
Before founding Next Narrative Africa, Cook served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, where she oversaw U.S. relations with Southern Africa and led economic and commercial diplomacy across the continent. Her work exposed a persistent truth—while talent is universal, opportunity is not.
Earlier, she built the Black Economic Alliance from the ground up, raising millions to advance Black economic progress, and practised law at Covington & Burling, advising on corporate governance and public policy.
Next Narrative Africa: Changing the Story, Changing the Value
Through Next Narrative Africa, Cook is proving that storytelling is not just cultural—it’s economic.
The newly launched Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF) is a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle targeting commercially viable audiovisual content created by African and diaspora storytellers. With a hybrid model of $40 million in commercial equity financing and $10 million in grant funding, the fund is designed to both generate returns and build industry infrastructure.
At its core, the fund addresses a long-standing gap: African creatives have the stories, talent, and audiences—but often lack the capital and distribution pathways to scale.
By bridging global capital with African intellectual property, the Next Narrative Africa Fund aims to finance high-quality film and television productions while unlocking access to global distribution opportunities. It also seeks to reduce the risks associated with investing in African content and challenge outdated narratives about the continent—positioning itself as a timely and strategic investment in Africa’s rapidly growing creative economy.
The launch comes at a time when Nollywood is already ranking among the world’s largest film industries by volume, and African content is gaining traction on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The global appetite for African stories is rapidly expanding.
Cook’s fund is positioning itself at the intersection of rising demand and undervalued African IP—an opportunity she describes as both economic and cultural.
By incorporating data-driven decision-making, the fund also aims to shift content greenlighting from intuition to predictive modelling—bringing a more institutional approach to an industry often driven by instinct.
Rewriting Africa’s Narrative
Beyond financing, the fund carries a deeper ambition: to transform how Africa is portrayed globally.
For decades, African stories have often been filtered through external lenses, sometimes reinforcing stereotypes. Cook’s vision is to empower creators to tell their own stories—authentically, unapologetically, and at scale.
This means supporting content that not only entertains but also reflects the continent’s complexity, creativity, resilience, and innovation.
For filmmakers, writers, and producers, the implications are significant as the fund opens up access to production capital, strengthens industry connections and partnerships, provides pathways to global streaming platforms, and supports greater creative control and ownership over their work.
It signals a shift toward an ecosystem where African creatives can build sustainable careers while shaping global culture on their own terms.
A Vision Rooted in Purpose
A graduate of Howard University, Harvard Kennedy School, and Yale Law School, Cook brings academic excellence alongside real-world experience. But beyond her credentials, she describes herself simply as a believer in the power of the African story—and a mother committed to shaping a more equitable future.
With the launch of the Next Narrative Africa Fund, Akunna E. Cook is not just investing in films—she is investing in perception, power, and possibility.
As African stories continue to take centre stage globally, initiatives like this are a reminder that the continent is no longer waiting to be discovered. It is defining itself. And this time, the story is being told from within. At a time when African stories are commanding global attention.
About the Author
