The National Film Authority (NFA) has finalized its investor interest for iGrow Africa documentary series, one of the 25 shortlisted films in the Presidential Film Pitch Series (PFPS).
The series is focused on connecting Ghanaian filmmakers and film businesses to investors and platforms in the drive to attract some much-needed investment into the sector which already employs large numbers of people.
The call to investors to invest in the sector unreservedly was made by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the launch of PFPS, by the National Film Authority in April 2021.
Annan Capital Partners (ACP) was one of the first investors to step forward with her interest after the filmmakers from the 25 projects in the series. They made their presentations to investors in a 3-day event attended by investors and platforms from all over the world.
The Agribusiness themed documentary, iGrow Africa, caught the eye of Annan capital as their first pick for funding.
iGrow Africa is a 6-part documentary series that tells the story of Agribusiness in Ghana through the journey of food from the farm, to warm meals in our homes and packaged food products in our shops.
The documentary is part of 25 shortlisted films in the 2021 Presidential Film Pitch Series.
The Chief Executive of NFA, Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante, said it is excited about this development because it opens the door for other Ghanaian investors to see the huge opportunity for investment in the sector.
She said, “The sector does not only create jobs for a large number of people but has the potential to be a large contributor to transforming the economy of Ghana. The sector is an identified channel for attracting foreign direct investments and pushing up the tourism numbers of Ghana.”
ACP, founded by global impact investor and serial entrepreneur Roberta Annan, expressed their interest in paving a way for further investment into the film sector and setting the pace for other local investors to follow.
Roberta Annan noted that their interest in the iGrow Africa project falls right in line with their long-term goals of further investment into Ghana’s agric sector.
ACP is a specialised boutique investment advisory company with subsidiaries across international jurisdictions along with strategic partnerships in 18 countries.
The Presidential film pitch series is the first of its kind and this investment marks the first finalized deal with a Ghanaian investor in a documentary film series with the agency.
The chairperson of the committee for the pitch series, Mr. Ivan Quashigah, expressed gratitude for the interest and funding for iGrow Africa and encouraged the team to see this as a stepping stone towards attracting further investment for the other films as well as future editions of the Pitch Series.
iGrow Africa is headed by Smart Nimrod Adjatey and Antoine Mensah.
The investment of GH₵ 156,000 will be spread across the next seven months and will go into funding, marketing and distributing the 6-part documentary series scheduled for release in early 2022.
NFA said it is focused on positioning Ghana as a content hub and a shooting destination and the Presidential Film Pitch Series is one of its key projects aimed at driving this goal.
The NFA is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
Roberta Annan, second left, presenting the cheque for investment in the iGrow Africa project
