top of page

Next Narrative Africa Fund Unveils 13-Member Advisory Board To Oversee Deployment of $50 Million in Commercial Equity and Grants

  • Writer: John Eriomala
    John Eriomala
  • 10 hours ago
  • 2 min read

The Akunna Cook-led fund, intending to deploy $50 million in support of audio-visual content made by African and African-diaspora creators, has set up an advisory board. 



In an exclusive announcement via The Hollywood Reporter, also shared via their newsletter, the Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF), a content and media investment vehicle targeting $50 million in support of audio-visual content made by African and African-diaspora creators, has unveiled a 13-member advisory board to oversee deployment of $40 million in commercial equity financing and $10 million in grants across film, TV, and new media. 


The board includes a who’s who of names in finance, film and TV production, tech, and talent management. Members include: 


  1. Khadija Alami, Producer and K Films owner 

  2. Georgia Arnold, GA-Agency Founder and social impact executive 

  3. Effie T. Brown, Gamechanger Films CEO and Academy Governor 

  4. Nitin Gajria, Managing Director of Google Publisher Partnerships for Asia Pacific and Co-founder of A54 Network Africa

  5. Darcy Heusel, Senior film executive and cultural strategist 

  6. Tom Lynch, Principal CEO of Tom Lynch Co.

  7. Ozi Menakaya, Continental Entertainment founder 

  8. Bianca Nepales, Creative technologist and entertainment executive 

  9. Tommy Oliver, Confluential Films and Black Love founder 

  10. Tunde Onitiri, Global investment and project finance executive 

  11. Talitha Watkins, ColorCreative Co-founder and President 

  12. Victor Williams, Lions Range Group Founder and Managing Partner 

  13. Sahar Yousefi, Film financing executive and producer 


According to NNAF’s founder, Nigerian-American economic policy and creative industry advocacy expert Akunna Cook, the board’s formation “is a signal of seriousness to global investors”. She added that, “This powerhouse group of creative industry players and finance experts have assembled to prove that investing in African narratives is a sophisticated investment strategy driving innovation, creating jobs, and delivering world-class entertainment to a global audience.”


In July 2025, NNAF announced its $1.5 million Inaugural Development Grant. Per the submission outlines, projects that challenged stereotypes about Africa and confronted gender tropes, while still making a profit and winning awards, were required. The projects from this fund, six to ten from over 2,000 submissions, will be revealed in March.  


With the institution of an advisory board, the Fund aims to further ‘leverage data to validate the global demand for African content and mobilize strategic partners and capital to industrialize the African narrative’; the former via partnership with Parrot Analytics as announced on February 4, 2026. 


NNAF joins a growing list of funds and partnerships aimed at building the Black creative economy, timely in the face of changes in the West like the Netflix-Warner Bros merger. 

bottom of page