Animation film to celebrate women as powerful drivers of entrepreneurship

A short film and an awareness-raising campaign to promote entrepreneurial culture

In Africa, unemployment and underemployment remain pressing challenges, especially for women and young people, who often face systemic barriers to education, economic opportunities, and fair participation in the labor market. In response, the European Union launched the Team Europe Initiative Investing in Young Businesses in Africa (TEI IYBA), which supports innovative pathways to entrepreneurship and job creation across the continent.

Two flagship actions under this initiative, IYBA-SEED - Supporting Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development, and IYBA-WE4A - Women Entrepreneurship for Africa, seek to strengthen local entrepreneurial ecosystems, and to empower and equip women with skills, confidence and support in order to achieve their professional goals.

IYBA-SEED focuses on promoting an entrepreneurial culture and improving access to business support services for youth and women-led start-ups in Kenya, Togo, Senegal, South Africa and Benin. IYBA-WE4A enhances the capacities of women entrepreneurs and helps them grow sustainable businesses in green sectors through access to finance, training, and networks in Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.
Recognizing their shared goals and overlapping regions, both programmes have come together to produce an animated short film that inspires, informs, and challenges societal norms.

A project in partnership with Triggerfish

Triggerfish, an internationally renowned animation studio based in South Africa, has been tasked to produce an animated short film and shape an awareness-raising campaign that will promote and celebrate a positive entrepreneurial culture through inspiring storytelling that challenges gender-based constraints and celebrates women as powerful drivers of entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development.

An international creative process

To authentically reflect Africa’s cultural richness and the diverse realities of women entrepreneurs, the film will be co-created through a collaborative process, involving local artists, storytellers, and ecosystem actors from all participating countries. Character design, script development, and animation will be shaped by creative talents selected through a call for applications, ensuring regional representation and cultural accuracy. 

Call for Applications: Pan-African creatives for animated short film 

This ambitious and inclusive production, not only seeks to ensure the film will resonate locally, but also invests in African creative industries and builds capacity and cooperation among young visual artists.
 

Through storytelling and widespread dissemination across TV, social media, and public events, the 2D animated film seeks to reshape public perceptions, break down stereotypes, and promote a more inclusive entrepreneurial culture that recognizes and values the contribution of African women entrepreneurs to sustainable economic development.