Nigerian Media Mogul Mo Abudu to Give MIPCOM Keynote on Diversity and Inclusion

Nigerian media mogul Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife Media, will present a keynote on diversity and inclusivity in the global film and television industry at the MIPCOM Cannes confab next month.

Abudu, a regular customer The Hollywood Reporter‘s annual Most Powerful Women in Global Entertainment list, will present the keynote at Mipcom on Tuesday, October 17 at the Grand Auditorium in Cannes. The event is a direct occasion for the 7th edition of Mipcom’s Diversify TV Awards, the only global award that recognizes the promotion of diversity and inclusivity in international media organizations.

In her two decades in the media industry, Abudu has built EbonyLife Media into one of Africa’s leading production companies, with a string of local theatrical blockbusters – Fifty, The wedding party, Your Excellency, Òlòtūré and television series, including Blood sisters, Netflix’s first original Nigerian series, which was a global top ten hit on the streamer, racking up over 11 million viewing hours worldwide. In addition to its multiple project deal with Netflix – a first for an African company – EbonyLife has productions in development with international studios and networks including Sony, AMC, Starz, Lionsgate and the BBC, as well as Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios, Will Packer Productions and Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures.

Abudu also set up the EbonyLife Creative Academy in Lagos, a school aimed at training the next generation of Nigerian filmmakers. In August, the UK government appointed Abudu as a Creatives Champion for next year’s UK-African Investment Summit, where she will work to bring together stakeholders from across Africa to try to promote collaboration, innovation and transformation in the continent’s creative sector .

“Mo Abudu is simply a powerhouse,” said Lucy Smith, director of Mipcom Cannes, “a creative entrepreneur, producer, presenter and philanthropist, successful in exporting the work of her own studio and a major force in helping African stories to reach a wider global audience in recent years. . When she was last with us in Cannes in 2019, Mo was awarded the Médaille d’Honneur in recognition of these achievements, and this year she joins as a keynote within a diversity and inclusion program at Mipcom Cannes that serves to empower those who make an impact have to draw attention to in this crucial area. area. No one is better placed to inspire than Mo and we look forward to welcoming and hearing from her next month.”

Mo Abudu joins an impressive lineup of speakers at this year’s Mipcom, including Paramount Global president Bob Bakish, Warner Bros. Discovery International president Gerhard Zeiler and Laura Fernández Espeso, CEO of Spanish production giant Mediapro Studio. Organizers expect to welcome around 11,000 buyers, commissioners, creatives and producers from more than 100 countries around the world to the 39th Mipcom Cannes, which takes place from October 16 to 19.