The Story⚡
Eight Cape Town animation studios just stepped into an eight-month programme designed to turn creative talent into lasting businesses. Backed by the United Nations Development Programme, Japan, and industry partners, the initiative opens doors to markets, investment, and ownership of their own stories.
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Animation has never been short of talent in South Africa. What it has lacked is the business machinery that lets a studio own what it creates, sell it and grow from it. A new accelerator from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is aimed at that gap. Its first cohort is made up of eight Cape Town-based animation studios, and the programme will run for eight months.
One Accelerator, Three Backers
The programme sits inside the UNDP timbuktoo Creatives Hub, a pan-African platform based in South Africa that connects creative entrepreneurs with knowledge, networks, markets and investment. It has the backing of the Government of Japan and is delivered by two partners. Digital Frontiers is a Cape Town-based non-profit that designs learning and capacity-building programmes. The Triggerfish Foundation is the non-profit arm of Triggerfish, which describes itself as Africa’s largest and most awarded animation studio.
The effort is spearheaded by Gloria Kiondo, Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP South Africa. The programme is built for growth-stage, founder-led studios in the Western Cape, and female-led studios and founders from under-represented groups were specially encouraged to apply.
From Working for Others to Owning the Work
The accelerator targets a particular business problem. Many African studios earn their living through service work, producing content for international companies that keep the rights. Kiondo said that when African studios own the stories they create, more of the value stays on the continent. She described the accelerator as a way of helping studios become companies that investors can back, rather than suppliers who deliver to someone else’s brief.
Maxwell Gomera, UNDP South Africa’s Resident Representative, approached it as a viewer first. He said he watches short animated episodes on Facebook, sometimes paying to find out what happens next, so he knows the audience is real. He added that AI is bringing production tools within reach of many more African storytellers, which makes market access and partnerships more important.
What the Eight Months Look Like
The accelerator started at Durban FilmMart from October 9 to 12, 2026, where representatives of the studios attended. They will meet their one-on-one mentors at MIP Africa in Cape Town. The market runs from October 28 to 30 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
After that, most of the work happens in a virtual-first format, which lets founders keep running their studios instead of travelling for months. The programme combines virtual learning, tailored mentorship, masterclasses and in-person validation sessions at the Creatives Hub. The organisers cover studio diagnostics, growth planning, production positioning, market validation, industry matchmaking and routes to finance.
Progress is judged on output rather than attendance. Each studio will build a Studio Scale Plan, sharpen how it presents itself to partners, strengthen its pitch materials and get feedback from industry decision-makers. Each leaves with clear next steps towards collaboration, commissioning, distribution and funding. Mentorship is adjusted to each studio’s route to growth, whether that is service production, original intellectual property, co-production or a mix.
The Eight Studios
Bugbox Animation: It has more than 20 years behind it. Co-founders Candice and Tim Argall won the Animation du Monde pitch competition at the 2015 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market in France for their series Musi & Cuckoo. The win came from pitching an idea to industry professionals, which is the skill this accelerator is designed to sharpen.
Fancy Horse Studios: Its range runs from museum exhibits to a galaxy far, far away. The studio won the Lanzendorf PaleoArt Prize for its Permian Waterhole installation at Karoo Origins: the Fossil Centre. Colin Payne, a founding member of AnimationSA, recently won a National Arts Council Award for Karoo Origins. Dianne Makings, co-founder of the Cape Town International Animation Festival, produced Aau’s Song for Star Wars: Visions.
Goon Valley: It is an animated explainer company now expanding into original content, and that is the move the accelerator exists to support. Co-founder Nadia Darries co-wrote and co-directed Aau’s Song, which shared an Annie Award for Best Music: TV/Media. The studio already has the awards, and the next step is owning the stories.
Lucan: It is the production company behind Moremi, which earned Emmy and Annie nominations. The film is part of the Disney+ anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, so Lucan has already shown that a South African story can reach a global streaming audience.
Motif Studios: Led by Craig Parker and Jacques Bock, it brings 15 years of animation and VFX experience. Their combined credits run past 50 and include Mad Max: Fury Road. They also worked on Surf Sangom from Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, which puts the studio’s skills on both a Hollywood action film and an African animated anthology.
Pixcomm: It won the NHK Japan Prize for Jabu’s Jungle, which ran for 10 seasons and reached more than 40 countries. The series follows a young boy and his magic talking drum as he meets African animals and learns along the way. The prize comes from Japan, a country now backing this accelerator. Founder Nic Buchanan co-founded the soccer comics and animation franchise Supa Strikas and holds the rights to produce an animated biography of Nelson Mandela.
Sparks Flew Development Studio: It specialises in storyboarding and script development, the stage where a story is shaped before production starts. Co-founders Julia Smuts Louw and Daniel Snaddon worked on Magic Light Pictures’ International Emmy-winning adaptation of The Smeds and the Smoos. Their clients include Lucasfilm, Netflix and Sony. Their own feature, Spike, is in production with Submarine and Diprente.
Studio Bo: It is an animation and games company that has built its business on explainer videos and interactive animation. It is now adding original IP, starting with a pilot called Animal Therapy. The series is a musical show that uses visuals and songs to help young children understand their emotions.
Animation Images
The Money Behind the Problem
The organisers support the programme with figures from the International Finance Corporation. Africa’s creative economy could contribute 20 million jobs and $200 billion in economic value by 2030. Yet emerging markets receive less than one per cent of global financing for the creative economy. Carina Lücke of the Triggerfish Foundation said that mentorship and market access at the right moment can decide whether a studio stays small or scales. Todd Malone, CEO of Digital Frontiers, tied the programme to youth employment, since stronger studios create work for young people.
Where it Fits in Timbuktoo
Timbuktoo is UNDP’s pan-African innovation initiative, launched in January 2024. It aims to mobilise US$1 billion over 10 years, support 10,000 start-ups, scale 1,000 high-impact enterprises and improve 100 million livelihoods. The Creatives Hub is based at the Homecoming Centre in District Six, Cape Town. Earlier this year, it also hosted a showcase that closed a four-month programme for independent animators run by UVU Africa and CAPACITI. Kiondo said the accelerator also gives UNDP a chance to build ties between Japan’s animation industry and South Africa’s.
In Summary
The selection of these eight studios marks a concrete step toward stronger commercial foundations for South African animation. By focusing on ownership of stories, clearer routes to buyers and capital, and practical business tools, the programme equips founders to keep more value at home while competing further afield. The results will be measured in sustainable studios and African-led content that reaches wider audiences.
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