Written by Kianna Best on Aug 23, 2022. Posted in Awards and Festivals

Netflix opens scholarship programme for West and Central Africa

Today, 23 August 2022, Netflix has opened applications for their Creative Equity Scholarship Fund (CESF) for West and Central Africa. The Sub-Saharan branch of the programme was initially announced by the streaming platform January 2022. USD 1 million dollars has been invested, with plans to allocate funds across various projects over the next five years.

Image courtesy of Sam McGhee

The extension of the CESF to West and Central Africa will provide film and television students the opportunity to study at institutions in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, and Gabon. In an effort to diversify and strengthen the supply of creatives across the world, the USD 1 million-dollar investment into the programme will cover tuition, housing, study materials and other living expenses. Netflix will be joining forces with Dalberg, a strategy and policy advisory firm focussed on global development. They will serve as an implementation partner and fund administrator in the West and Central Africa region.

Image courtesy of Netflix

Eligible countries in Africa will include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte D'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. The fund will be available to those students who are admitted to study film and television centred courses this 2022 academic year at Institut Philippe Maury de l'audiovisuel et du Cinéma, Gabon, Institut Supérieur des Métiers de l'Audiovisuel in Benin, National Film and Television Institute in Ghana, and Nigeria’s National Film Institute Jos and Pan-Atlantic University.

Image courtesy of Netflix

Over the past few years, Netflix has shown a keen interest in showing their support for production representation from a variety of African countries. Strides have been made from their 2021 intentions of strengthening the foundation of quality storytelling in Africa, to the 2022 announcement of their African centred slate, including their firs ever Afrikaans-language drama Ludik, premiering 26 August 2022. The development and financial contributions for upcoming creatives shows the streaming platform’s proactive stance in their efforts to support the African visual industry.