At CreatePreneurAfrica, we amplify voices that challenge the status quo. This month, we spotlight filmmaker and Sundance alumna Lovinsa Kavuma, whose recent reflections on LinkedIn have sparked a powerful conversation about the future of African storytelling, and the broken systems that hold it back.
The Problem Isn’t Just Access. It’s Architecture.
Lovinsa’s post begins with a moment of friction: an AI assistant suggesting she “humanize” African presidents in a documentary pitch. Her response? “Why humanize a human?” That question cracked open a deeper truth: funding systems often reinforce the very narratives they claim to disrupt.
Thousands of African creatives apply for grants that promise to “shift the narrative,” yet these grants are often funded by institutions that shaped the old one. In Lovinsa’s words, we’re “building eternal databases of continental intellectual property”—for free.
The Lottery Model: A Radical Alternative
Lovinsa proposes a bold solution: a lottery-based funding system for African filmmakers. Here’s how it would work:
- Creatives submit proposals that meet basic criteria.
- Scripts remain unopened unless selected.
- Winners are chosen quarterly in a televised spectacle across 54 countries.
- Funding becomes marketing—audiences are built during selection, not after production.
This model eliminates gatekeeping bias, spreads investment risk, and democratizes access. It’s not just funding—it’s infrastructure.
Visibility Is Legacy
Lovinsa invokes the late Souleymane Cissé, who said: “It is not enough to make cinema; the works must also be visible.” Visibility isn’t a luxury—it’s legacy. And legacy requires systems that honor process, not just product.
Why This Matters to Us
At CreatePreneurAfrica, we believe in boldness. We believe in questioning the gatekeepers. We believe in funding models that reflect the diversity, urgency, and brilliance of African creatives. Lovinsa’s call to action reminds us that until we control significant capital ourselves, most solutions are just better terms for our exploitation.
As Goethe said, “Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” Lovinsa’s vision carries all three.







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