Idris Elba says technology can help wake sleeping giant of African creative industry

Hollywood star sees opportunity for continent to emulate success of South Korea during Bridge Summit in Abu Dhabi

Idris Elba at the media and technology conference in Abu Dhabi. Antonie Robertson / The National

Hollywood star Idris Elba said African film and music is poised to replicate the global acclaim of South Korea, as a continent packed with creative talent benefits from a new technological age.

The UK citizen, whose parents were born in Sierra Leone and Ghana, hailed the untapped creative resources of Africa during the Bridge Summit, a media and technology conference in Abu Dhabi.

Elba, 53, said young creatives across Africa should look to emulate the recent dominance of K-pop culture. That would allow them to correct the many preconceived views of African culture.

“I've played everything from drug dealers to presidents, and my goal as an actor is always to bring a lot of my characters to life as much as possible,” said Elba, who starred in hit TV shows Luther and The Wire, as well as numerous Hollywood blockbusters. “I see acting as a bridging device for entertainment, for education and for understanding.

“If I ask anybody to tell me something about Sierra Leone or Ghana, they would have a story that was given to them that forms their perception of what the culture is, especially Sierra Leone. There is a big young population there – all they ever hear about is blood diamonds. Their stories should be valued as a way of correcting how Sierra Leone has been seen and understood.”

Creative potential

Working alongside the Stellar Development Foundation, a FinTech non-profit group, Elba aims to support young creatives across Africa to help them monetise their work.

The Akuna Wallet is a blockchain-based digital wallet that enables freelancers to receive payments from around the world quickly. It aims to provide young Africans with access to the global digital economy and solve existing issues including slow international transfers and high transaction fees.

Idris Elba stars in the film Beasts of No Nation. Photo: Netflix

“One of the big pain points for young creators across Africa is being able to see financials from TikTok, Google or other online mediums,” said Elba. “Over the last 15 years, Korean film and music has generated a worldwide dominance. This has happened because there's been very careful, critical thinking around the building blocks – from policy to distribution to marketing.

“Now Afrobeats has become one of the strongest, biggest dominant music genres. Africans have so many untold stories, from new cultural perspectives that are not yet understood or seen – that is also an opportunity.”

Through his impact investment company the Akuna Group, Elba has forged an alliance with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. The partnership aims to promote food and water sustainability initiatives in the UAE and around the world, while highlighting Abu Dhabi's technological advancements in food development, agricultural transformation and water treatment.

Another speaker at the three-day media summit was Jeff Zucker, chief executive and operating partner of RedBird IMI, a joint venture between New York-based private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners and IMI. IMI is the parent company of news outlets including The National and has its headquarters in the UAE.

Media merger

Mr Zucker spoke about the $72 billion acquisition of Warner Bros by Netflix. “Warner Bros has incredible intellectual property and I think this proves that media companies, whether they're legacy or new, need even greater scale,” said Mr Zucker, who was president of CNN Worldwide from 2013 to 2022.

“The combination of those two things is what this is all about. Who knows exactly where this acquisition goes, but I think there's a couple more chapters to be written before we know how this story ends.”

Jeff Zucker, chief executive and operating partner of RedBird IMI. AP

Mr Zucker said technology would have an increasing role in a rapidly evolving media landscape, with greater consumer value placed on people, rather than established institutions. “The consumer doesn't think about how Netflix obtained Warner Bros or how any other company obtained another – they just think, is that a good story? Is it entertaining or is it informative? That’s what media continues to be,” he said.

“General journalism is going to be very difficult in a world of AI and where economic models make broad-based journalism unsustainable. But journalism that goes deep and gives the consumer an edge gives you a reason to subscribe to that outlet. That's what will work and that's what will succeed.

“Today it's much more about the individual. Institutions used to confer credibility upon the individual, now it's the other way around.”