«Iwaju», série d’animation «made in Africa», provided by Disney +

It was in January 2019 that the Creative Director of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Jennifer Lee, discovered the existence of Kugali. And especially the temperament of its founders. In a report broadcast on the BBC, Hamid Ibrahim, artistic director of the studio, presents his work. And proudly claims that his creations will “kick Disney’s butt.” The little phrase piques the curiosity of Jennifer Lee. A few days later, contact is made. “We explained to him what we were doing and offered him ideas,” says Hamid Ibrahim. And the “kick” eventually turned into a collaboration. ”

Register in the field of animation to make Africa exist in the future too

For the Pan-African studio, the interest is considerable. “If Disney dominates the animation industry today, it’s not for nothing. It is this experience and this maturity that they will be able to bring to the realization of Iwaju, ”says its artistic director. Above all, thanks to the broadcast of the series on Disney +, Kigali will be able to benefit from an international audience. And thereby reach young people aspiring to animation everywhere on the continent. Tolu Olowofoyeku, technical director within the studio, for his part “always dreamed of being a video game developer”. “But this dream was unattainable for most people when I was a child,” he laments. The many successes of Kugali today show African children and their parents that there is a future for them in animation, games or comics. And this, even if no one around them has started before them. ”

A few years ago, the three friends Hamid Ibrahim, Tolu Olowofoyeku and Fikayo Adeola made a sad observation. “There are never blacks in science fiction, so by inference no blacks in the future,” they recall in front of the BBC cameras. So, when they created Kugali, in 2017, the goal was clear: “to tell stories inspired by African culture, using comics, or augmented reality”. And success is rapid. Afro-futuristic albums such as Lake of Tears, Nani or Mumu Juju appeal to a large community of fans. And soon Disney. For Hamid Ibrahim, it is above all their “imagination and a new genre, Afro-futurism, from another part of the world” that seduced the firm. Tolu Olowofoyeku leans more towards the attraction of novelty, “stories different from what people are used to seeing”, “beyond cultural discovery”.

Awareness of an economic potential to be exploited

Combined arguments which have, in any case, seduced the Disney studios. The collaboration is unprecedented for the firm, even if it seems in recent years to show a growing interest in the stories of the continent. As in 2016, with the achievement of Queen of Katwe, a biopic on Angolan chess player Phiona Mutesi, including Lupita Nyong’o in the cast. Or in September 2020, thanks to the partnership concluded with the Nigerian FilmOne Entertainment, which allows it to distribute films belonging to Disney in English-speaking West Africa. Disney is therefore getting closer and closer to the continent, where the sector’s economic potential is very strong.

According to a study by the American firm Digital TV Research, video-on-demand subscription services will generate $ 1.06 billion in Africa in 2025, compared to 183 million in 2019. The number of subscribers is expected to increase over the same period from 2.68 million to 9.72 million. A success and growth to which Disney + will not be completely foreign. Because, according to the study, the platform will rank 2^e sector on the continent, behind Netflix but ahead of Showmax, Iroko, Amazon and Apple TV +. Forecasts like so many collaborations with African studios.