In commemoration of the 2024 Africa Day, Africa’s leading entertainment company, MultiChoice, has emphasized the role of education in cultivating talent and sustainability in the African entertainment industry.

According to the company, the continent is ripe with unrealised potential, and it is pertinent that organisations address Africa’s education challenge, to ensure that skills that students gain are directly relevant to their future development, and that of the continent.

Aligning with the 2024 Africa Day theme: “Educate an African Fit For The 21st Century,” the company said it remains committed to equipping aspiring industry professionals with the crucial “sustainable education” it takes to thrive in the rapidly changing film and television sector, through the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) initiative.

“An MTF survey has found that around 92% of MTF Academy graduates go on to work in the creative sector. Many of these young professionals go on to careers at MultiChoice, which bills itself as “Africa’s most-loved storyteller,” said MultiChoice West Africa CEO, Mr. John Ugbe.

“This level of absorption demonstrates another benefit of education in the African development journey: it unlocks the massive potential of the continent’s youthful population. Education is what will transform Africa’s 400 million young people aged between 15 and 35 into a generation of doctors, lawyers, financiers, engineers and media professionals,” he added.

On the cultural impact of MTF, he noted that training African creatives equips them to tell African stories. He explained that MTF is an innovative approach to the idea of “educating Africa”, as it equips African talents to educate other Africans – culturally and spiritually – through the telling of African stories.

“These African stories also allow Africa to show the rest of the world the power of its history and the talent of its people, as our productions take their rightful place on global content platforms,” Ugbe said.

Africa Day is celebrated yearly on May 25, in commemoration of the foundation of the Organization of African Unity in May 1963. MTF consists of three offerings – MTF Academies in major African capitals provide hands-on, relevant training for aspiring TV and film professionals; the MTF portal allows professionals to network and find work opportunities; while MTF masterclasses offer an ongoing programme of professional development. Most influential of these MTF offerings are the MTF Academies in Nairobi, Lagos and Lusaka.