By Eva Irewole
Kunle Afolayan signs historic MoU with Republic of Benin to boost African filmmaking, youth training, and establish a world-class Film City
In a landmark move set to redefine the future of West African filmmaking and cross-border creative collaboration, the Kunle Afolayan Productions in February signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Republic of Benin, to establish a strategic partnership focused on transforming the audio-visual and film production landscape between the two entities.
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The event, which happened on Thursday February 19, 2026 at Afolayan’s KAP Hub, a one-stop creative centre and head office of the KAP Group, followed a Presidential invitation to Afolayan in January to attend the famous voodoo festival in Benin Republic.
The event signified a major collaboration by the KAP Group, reinforcing its growing role in building strategic creative alliances across Africa aimed at strengthening African cinema, empowering youth, and developing globally competitive creative infrastructure.
This historic partnership reflects a shared vision to harness the power of cinema, youth development, and creative enterprise as drivers of cultural diplomacy, economic growth, and Africa’s global creative influence.
As part of the engagement process, Afolayan in January was in the Republic of Benin, where extensive consultations were held with senior government officials and key stakeholders in the country’s audio-visual and
cinematography sectors.
Discussions focused on building sustainable frameworks to elevate local content creation,strengthen technical capacity, and position the
Republic of Benin as an emerging hub for film and creative excellence in Africa.
Following the directive of the Beninese President, a government delegation
formalized this partnership through the signing of an MoU and signalled the official commencement of this transformative collaboration.
Members of the visiting delegation include Sinatou Saka, Special Adviser to the President of the
Republic of Benin on Media and Audiovisual Affairs; Coline-Lee Toumson-Venite, Special Adviser
to the President for Arts and Culture; Bassirou Ndiaye, CEO SOPA S.A, Faissol Gnonlonfin, Director of Cinema and Performing Arts at the Agency for the Development of Arts and Culture (ADAC), representing the Minister of Culture; and Meto
Adoglo, Program Manager for Storytelling at Sèmè City.
The partnership is expected to focus on three pillars of co-production of films that
tell African stories and expand the global reach of the continent’s cinema; structured
youth training across all areas of filmmaking and creative production and the
development, equipping and operation of a world-class Film City in Ouidah, Benin.
These three pillars, according to Afolayan, will benefit immensely from the expertise of some existing subsidiaries within the KAP Group such as KAP Motion Pictures, KAP Film & Television Academy and KAP Film Village & Resort, respectively.
As part of the official programme that took place between February 19 and 22, the delegation toured the famed KAP Group’s production hub in Lagos, as well as the KAP Film Village & Resort in Igbojaye-Komu, Oyo State, a creative ecosystem widely regarded as a model for integrated film production, training, and cultural tourism in
Africa.
“This partnership further reinforces KAP Group’s pioneering role in reshaping the narrative of African cinema through innovation, talent development, and nfrastructure building, ” he says.
Speaking further, Afolayan described the collaboration as “a defining moment for African cinema, where visionary leadership, cultural authenticity, and creative enterprise converge to project our stories, our people, and our creative strength to the world in the most compelling way.”
Also commenting, the Special
Adviser to the Benenois President of the Republic for Media and Audio-Visual Affairs, Sinatou Saka, expressed excitement that the proposed collaboration has now been formalised.
“We are finally happy to be working in partnership with Kunle Afolayan, especially in the area of capacity building” she said.
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Both parties describe the agreement as the beginning of a long-term strategic
alliance committed to raising the bar for film production, creative education, and
cultural expression across Africa.
