***Reveals there is 43% supply to demand gap

Global demand for African content is outpacing available supply, creating room for fresh investment and growth in the continent’s creative industry, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Next Narrative Africa, Akunna Cook has said.

Cook  made  the  observation at  Africa  Breakfast Convos 2026 at the World Trade Center in New York, where she joined News Central TV  Managing  Director,  Kayode  Akintemi,  for  a  panel  on  “Financing  Africa’s  Next Growth  Chapter”.

The  session,  moderated  by  Afua  Hagan,  examined  the  role  of capital, visibility and storytelling in supporting businesses and ideas shaping Africa’s growth.

“African content is demanded at 28 per cent of global demand, but the supply is less  than  16  per  cent.  So  there’s  an  enormous  gap  between  what’s  being demanded and what’s being supplied,” Cook said.

Her figures are consistent with a 2026 study by Next Narrative Africa Fund and Parrot Analytics, which found that non-English-language African stories accounted for 28 per cent of audience demand within the study’s tracked cohort, but only 16 per cent of available supply between 2020 and 2025.

The study also found that demand for African  and  African-diasporan film  and television content had exceeded available supply over the five-year period.  Cook said changing global viewing patterns added to the opportunity for African creators  and  producers.

“And  if  you  add  to  that  2025  was  the first  year  that non-English language content surpassed English language content in terms of global  demand,  you  see  where  there’s  a  real  growth  opportunity  for  African content,” she said.

The wider investment picture also points to growing international interest  in  Africa,  with  the  African  Development  Bank  projecting  4.2  per  cent economic growth across the continent in 2026, while UN Trade and Development reported that Africa attracted about $70bn in foreign direct investment in 2025.

The Africa Breakfast Conversations has established itself as a platform for U.S., African and global leaders to connect during UNGA.

The speaker lineup featured Hackim Abdul, Director of Citi’s Public Sector Group for Africa; Yasamin Alttahir, Director of Global  Marketing,  Communications  and  External  Affairs  at  The  King’s  Trust International;  Kayode  Akintemi,  Managing  Director  and  Editor-in-Chief  of  News Central TV; Akunna Cook, former Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs in the Biden-Harris Administration and current Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Next Narrative Africa; and Otunba Bimbola Ashiru, Chairman, Blackcod Group and Group Director, Odu’a Investment Company Limited; Ayeni Adekunle, CEO of BHM Holdings; and Claudine Moore, Managing Director, Africa at Allison.

Previous editions included Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings and Coronation Group; Iyin Aboyeji, Founding Partner at Future Africa; Tobe Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services Officer at MTN Nigeria, as well as executives from The King’s Trust,  Goldman  Sachs, Citi, NBA Africa, UBA and other leading organisations.

The 2026 edition expanded this platform by bringing the conversation around the future of continued economic collaboration between U.S., Africa and global markets into sharper  focus  through  the  lens  of  trade,  investment,  partnership  and  global influence.