Idris Elba and Google have announced a $1 million initiative to provide 100,000 creators across Africa with free access to Google’s Gemini AI assistant and other digital tools. The program, funded jointly by Google and Elba’s Elba Hope Foundation, will target creators in Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone.
The initiative was announced at Google’s AI Summit in Johannesburg, where Google Senior Vice President for Research and Technology James Manyika explained the vision behind it. “We think about all those creatives who don’t have access to these enormous studio budgets,” he said. “AI is potentially a tool that can enable them to do work that they couldn’t otherwise do because they don’t have huge budgets.”
For Elba, the program reflects a belief he has long held about the state of opportunity on the continent. “The barrier is not a lack of vision, it’s a lack of access,” he said. “Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not.”
The initiative is part of a broader and long-running effort by Elba to build infrastructure for African storytelling and creativity. He has previously announced plans to establish a film studio in Zanzibar, Tanzania, described by Zanzibar’s Investment Minister as being on par with Hollywood, Nollywood or Bollywood, as well as a creative village in Ghana designed to produce culturally authentic content for global streaming platforms. He has also launched Akuna Wallet, a digital payments platform built to simplify cross-border transactions for creators and freelancers across the continent, which will also be part of this initiative alongside the AI tools.
“Being from the creative sector and working across Africa, I see the real bottlenecks that can be alleviated with technical, financial solutions,” Elba told OkayAfrica. “The creative economy is often overlooked, but it can be a major economic driver.”
The timing comes as Africa’s media and entertainment industry continues to attract global investment. The sector is currently valued at roughly $93 billion and projected to reach $118 billion by 2031, driven by rising internet penetration, a young population and growing demand for locally produced content. Google also announced at the summit that it will select 15 African startups for its AI-focused accelerator beginning July 21, as part of a broader commitment to support 50 AI startups across Africa by 2028.
Originally read on Bloomberg