'Twas the last fortnight of twenty-twenty-one,
When after an intense year trying to catch up
With so many things, people and places kept on hold,
Stories to be told, ideas and projects to be sold;
And because our world is still, honestly, quite messed up,
No one dared wishing each other a Happy One
By fear of jinxing it for everyone.
Dear colleagues and friends,
Here at Restless Global, we feel very lucky to end this Pandemic Year 2 on a high note.
In fact, 2021 was our busiest and best year ever. We signed with major clients, expanded our team, collected and analyzed piles of data, Zoomed quite a bit, wrote and wrote and wrote some more, and hosted events showcasing African creative entrepreneurs in Abidjan, Montpelier, and Nice.
The results included a groundbreaking report on the African film and audiovisual sector that is now being quoted everywhere, and exciting new films and series developed with partners in Nigeria and Hollywood that will (hopefully) be coming soon to a screen near you.
Our strong focus on building innovative models to finance the African creative industries has helped leading players such as UNESCO, Netflix, Afreximbank, AfDB, and the Nigerian government channel new funding to the space. Putting our money where our mouth is, we also made our very own first angel investments.
As we close 2021, the African sports, entertainment, and creative industries are now clearly on the global map. Investors have caught on, and this is all I was hoping for when I started this newsletter in February 2020.
Today, there is so much going on in the space that it is hard to keep track. So, I’m trying something new: for the latest news and time-sensitive announcements on the African creative and sports business sectors, please follow me on Linkedin.
Going forward, HUSTLE & FLOW will focus more squarely on analysis and will be published periodically. Look out for the next edition in January with my Top 3 Trends for 2022.
Enjoy the jollof, the nyama choma, the turkey, or the foie gras, and see you on the other side.
Marie