Akuna Group, Google launch free AI filmmaking programme for creators in 5 African countries

‎Akuna Learning, the education arm of The Akuna Group, is running a programme with Google to provide US$1 million for aspiring filmmakers in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

‎The programme is open for applicants to submit work online until 15 November 2026. There is no fee to apply, and selected participants attend at no cost. Applicants need no prior AI experience and no film school background. They must be at least 18, live in one of the five countries, and have a laptop, reliable internet and steady power for the full programme. Existing creative work is required, though it can be modest. Organisers say they strongly encourage women to apply.

The programme runs for about a year and begins with a 12-week online academy from February to April 2027, certified by Curious Refuge and supported by weekly sessions from Akuna and in-person meetups in each country. Participants can then specialise in one of five pathways: fiction, documentary, animation, advertising or screenwriting. Graduates who submit strong one-page story ideas move on to build teams and receive four weeks of mentoring from industry experts. Mentor-endorsed teams pitch to panels drawn from Akuna, Google and the wider industry in mid-2027, and selected projects receive production funding. Funded teams then make their films and take them to festivals and showcases, with screenings scheduled for October 2027.

‎Creators keep ownership of their work. Neither Akuna nor Google claims rights to the films.

Sir Idris Elba, chairman of The Akuna Group, said “For me, this is about learning,” adding that the aim is to help creators across the continent tell their own stories. Khaled Gad, the group’s chief executive, argued that skills alone are not enough. “Training on its own does not build an industry,” he said, describing the programme as a route from the classroom to a finished, funded film.

‎The applications window closes on 15 November, and the programme is designed to run identically in all five countries, with a review panel in each country and a final panel reviewing applications across all of them.