A major international deal is set to transform the landscape for video game creators, animators, and filmmakers across the African continent. In a landmark move for the creative economy, France and Morocco have signed a new strategic declaration of intent aimed at boosting cooperation, funding, and talent development across Africa’s fast-growing cinema, audiovisual, and video game industries.
The official agreement was signed in Rabat by Moroccan Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, and French Minister of Culture, Catherine Pégard. This agreement marks a giant step forward in creating cross-border support networks for digital storytellers, game studios, and interactive media creators across North, West, East, and Southern Africa.
This renewed bilateral initiative formally integrates video games alongside traditional cinema. It provides African developers with unprecedented access to international co-production funds, technical expertise, and global publishing pathways.
A major milestone of this agreement is Morocco’s official integration into the African Authors and Producers Fund, known internationally as Fonds d’Aide aux Auteurs et Producteurs Africains (FAPA).
First unveiled by France’s National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC) during the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, FAPA was established to empower African creators by funding original projects, facilitating access to global markets, and fostering meaningful collaboration between Francophone and non-Francophone creative communities.
Backed by a dedicated €1 million budget, the FAPA fund brings together 13 influential international partners across six countries. Key participating institutions supporting this global alliance include:
The Red Sea Film Foundation (Saudi Arabia)
Wallonia-Brussels Federation (Belgium)
Film Fund Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles, Quebec, Canada)
Telefilm Canada (Canada)
By joining this international coalition, Morocco acts as a strategic bridge. This move allows African game developers and digital storytellers to tap into pooled international resources, equity support, and global distribution networks that were previously out of reach for independent studios.
Why Video Games Take Center Stage in the Agreement
While European-African creative partnerships have historically focused on traditional film and television, this new declaration places an explicit, priority focus on interactive entertainment and video game development.
Government leaders from both France and Morocco recognize that gaming represents one of the fastest-growing sectors of Africa’s digital economy. With the continent boasting the youngest population in the world and rapidly rising smartphone and console penetration, the demand for locally crafted games rooted in African mythology, folklore, and modern street culture has never been higher.
Under the terms of the new declaration, France and Morocco have committed to:
Sharing Technical Expertise: Connecting established French game studios and technical institutes with emerging African developers to share best practices in game engines, 3D modeling, coding, and game design.
Establishing New Funding Mechanisms: Exploring direct grants, equity matches, and incubator funding specifically targeted at indie game development and interactive software.
Encouraging Cross-Industry Talent Transfers: Supporting professionals who move between film, animation, motion capture, and game development.
Facilitating International Market Access: Providing African game creators with dedicated exhibition spaces, trade delegations, and pitch opportunities at major global events like Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and the Morocco Gaming Expo.
Morocco as a Regional Creative and Educational Hub
This expanded partnership reinforces Morocco’s ambitious vision to establish itself as North Africa’s primary gateway for creative industries, digital media, and game development.
At the center of this educational effort is the expanding Higher Institute of Audiovisual Professions and Cinema (ISMAC) campus located in Dakhla. The institute is being positioned as a premier regional training hub designed to educate and empower the next generation of African creative professionals.
The Dakhla campus already attracts talent from across the continent, with a substantial portion of its student body coming from Sub-Saharan Africa. Under the new accord, French technical instructors and industry mentors will work directly alongside Moroccan educators at ISMAC to offer specialized modules in:
Narrative Design and Worldbuilding: Crafting deep, immersive storylines that translate across both interactive games and linear film.
Motion Capture and Voice Acting: Training African actors and performers in digital performance capture for modern video game engines.
Animation and Visual Effects (VFX): Mastering 3D art pipelines, environment design, and character animation using cutting-edge tools like Unreal Engine and Unity.
Game Business and Publishing: Teaching young studio founders how to negotiate publishing contracts, manage intellectual property (IP), and pitch to global venture funds.
One of the most exciting aspects of this institutional partnership is its emphasis on cross-industry convergence. Modern game development and high-end filmmaking no longer operate in isolated silos. Today, the technical skill sets required to produce a blockbuster animated movie or a cinematic video game overlap significantly.
Through events like the Morocco Gaming Expo, organized by the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication, film producers and video game creators are being actively brought together to explore joint opportunities.
This convergence unlocks several major advantages for African creators:
- Transmedia Storytelling: A single original African story can now be developed simultaneously as an animated television series, a feature film, and an interactive mobile or console game.
- Shared Technology Pipelines: Virtual production tools, LED volume stages, and real-time rendering software allow film crews and game developers to share digital assets, saving production costs and speeding up release timelines.
- Expanded Revenue Streams: Independent studios can monetize their intellectual property across multiple media platforms, reducing financial risk and attracting broader investment.
A Growing Trend of Institutional Support for African Gaming
The France-Morocco agreement is part of a broader, encouraging trend across the global gaming industry. International cultural funds, global publishers, and tech giants are increasingly recognizing African interactive media as a vital frontier for growth.
In recent months, the continent has seen several high-profile initiatives aimed at scaling up local studios:
Supercell’s Equity-Free Grants: The Finnish mobile gaming giant behind Clash of Clans launched equity-free grant programs aimed directly at supporting indie African game studios.
Goethe-Institut’s GamesConnect AFRICA: Programs providing travel scholarships and pitch access for African developers to showcase their titles at major European trade events like Gamescom.
Roots & Pixels Initiative: Dedicated accelerator programs designed specifically to empower African women game developers through mentorship and international residency in Belgium.
Major Studio Collaborations: Leading African creative houses, such as Cape Town’s Pressure Cooker Studios, scoring major scoring and sound design deals with global titans like Riot Games.
By establishing long-term, structural support through initiatives like FAPA and ISMAC rather than short-term one-off workshops, France and Morocco are helping to build a sustainable commercial ecosystem where African developers can thrive permanently.
For independent developers working out of Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Accra, and beyond, this agreement offers clear, practical benefits.
As implementation rolls out through 2026 and into 2027, creators can expect expanded calls for proposals, dedicated co-production grants, technical masterclasses, and international residency opportunities. Most importantly, it creates a structured pathway for African gaming studios to maintain full ownership of their original stories while accessing the global capital and distribution necessary to compete on the world stage.
As cultural institutions and governments continue to back interactive media, the future of African game development looks brighter, more connected, and more sustainable than ever before.