Africa Launches Its First Vertical Drama Academy

 The first African academy dedicated to vertical micro-drama has officially launched.

The free, three-week Academy For Microdrama program run by the Digital Creator Africa will train experienced filmmakers to create fast, mobile-first series in 90-second episodes, using AI tools to cut production time and costs. It targets creators across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, and the diaspora.

While African creators have had success on open platforms such as YouTube, this program is an effort to increase their visibility on paid vertical apps like ReelShort and DramaBox.

Traditional training programs create isolated creators who struggle to form teams. The academy plans to train complete production crews together: scriptwriters, directors, producers, editors, and AI filmmakers who collaborate during training and graduate ready to produce immediately. 

The hope is to have as many as 500 students complete the 12-15 hour a week program.

Digital Creator Africa was founded by Elijah Affi, Co-Founder of Takeout Media and Co-Executive Producer of the upcoming Project Runway Africa, and Ifeoma Areh, founder of WildPepper Studios and Principal Consultant at WildFlower PR & Company.

Partners with Digital Creator Africa include Ingene Studios, Fourthmainland, Digital Native Africa, Africa Creative Market Global, TM Foundation and Wildpepper Studios.