TAIDO African Animation Challenge 2026: Empowering Africa’s Animation Talent

Oct 23, 2025

In collaboration with local African animation studios recruited through the Africa Business Desk, JETRO, together with Arc & Beyond and other partners, will implement "TAIDO African Animation Challenge 2026" to train local animators.

Africa is home to a wealth of stories and countless young animators with great potential. However, they lack opportunities to refine their skills and gain international exposure, and the animation industries in these countries remain underdeveloped. This project aims to amplify local cultures and stories to the world through the production of animation in Africa, while promoting further development of the animation industry and creating employment opportunities locally. The project name "TAIDO" expresses the desire to spread the pulse (TAIDŌ│胎動) of animation culture thriving in Africa like ripples to the world and turn it into a major torrent.

Through this project, we further aim to create opportunities for African talent to engage with the Japanese animation industry while providing mentoring by experts, thereby honing African talent and giving them a chance to step onto the global stage. Local studios participating in the program will take on challenges in story creation, character design, and short animation production while being mentored by Japanese experts in animation production. At the end of the program, there will be a review session where animation production professionals active both in Japan and abroad will provide feedback on the completed short animations, facilitating further exchanges.

The program will run from today until the end of March 2026, with the review session scheduled as a public event in Spring 2026. In addition, at the pop culture event "Super Japan in Lagos" hosted by JETRO in Lagos, Nigeria, on November 14–15 this year, the character designs of each work will be showcased.

The 'Africa Business Desk,' connects Japanese companies targeting the African market with business partners. JETRO has supported Arc & Beyond in discovering animation studios in Ghana and Nigeria and build frameworks. And through this project, we will support co-creation between Japan and Africa.