African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the Cairo-based pan-African multilateral financial institution, has named One Street Studios as co-general partner of the Pan-African Film Fund, with Lavaille Lavette appointed chief executive officer of the investment platform designed to mobilize up to $1 billion for Africa's film and creative industries.
The appointment was announced on 8 July 2026 by Afreximbank's development impact investment arm, the Fund for Export Development in Africa. FEDA and One Street Studios will serve as co-general partners of the fund.
The Pan-African Film Fund was officially launched in May 2025 under Creative Africa Nexus, Afreximbank's CANEX programme for Africa and African diaspora creative and cultural industries. The fund is designed to back film, television and immersive media across content production, infrastructure and distribution.
According to today's press release, prospective producers will likely need to package projects with a strong commercial case, a defined audience, and export value beyond the local market, and a credible route to distribution via a streamer, studio, distributor, broadcaster, sales agent or other serious market partner.
This is financing equity, quasi-equity and structured finance — deals tied to distribution contracts, licensing income, platform payments, tax incentives or other confirmed sources of project value. This is not grants or soft cultural support, which means projects will need to show a path to repayment, ownership value, upside, or other structured returns.
Additionally, the fund's repeated references to infrastructure, production capacity, distribution, and a pipeline suggest that companies, slates, studios, or projects connected to larger business plans may be especially relevant.
The fund also plans to invest across the audiovisual chain, including content development and production, global distribution for African-produced work, digital streaming and exhibition platforms, production studios and post-production infrastructure.
One Street Studios is presented in the release as a production and media company that combines project financing, publishing, and screen adaptation. Lavette is managing partner at One Street Studios and JVL Media, the production, media packaging and independent publishing company founded by Viola Davis, Julius Tennon and Lavette.
Afreximbank president George Elombi described the FEDA-One Street Studios partnership as a bridge between the African diaspora and the continent, saying it would help Africa's creative economy take greater ownership of its narratives.
"Africa's creative industries are entering a defining moment," Lavette said. "Through the Pan-African Film Fund, we will mobilize long-term capital that supports creators, strengthens production capacity, and builds sustainable global distribution pathways for African storytelling."
For producers, the next measure is how the fund moves from announcement to deployed capital, and which filmmakers, companies, and African markets are first able to access it.
Afreximbank first announced the $1 billion fund in late 2023. The fund officially launched in May 2025.