EbonyLife Place London, which Mo Abudu described as a global destination for African culture, will include EbonyLife Cinemas.
By Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku
In a bold effort to expand its international presence, Nigerian media conglomerate, EbonyLife Group, is set to launch its luxury lifestyle and entertainment resort, EbonyLife Place, in London.
The development was announced by Mo Abudu, EbonyLife’s Chief Executive Officer, in a recent interview with Bloomberg where the media mogul discussed the market and growth potentials of African filmmaking and the hurdles African filmmakers face in reaching broader audiences.
This follows an earlier teaser from the EbonyLife Chief via Instagram where she shared that she would be concentrating on a set of special projects, including EbonyLife Place London, EbonyLife ON—an OTT platform called designed to serve audiences in Africa and the diaspora—and an Afro Film Fund for investing in African stories.
EbonyLife Place London, which Mo Abudu described as a global destination for African culture, will include EbonyLife Cinemas, whose Lagos location ranked No. 1 among the top 30 exhibitors in Anglophone West Africa by box office and No. 2 by admissions in 2024, according to an industry report by Nile Group.
EbonyLife has been at the forefront of efforts towards the global expansion of African cinema, from major content deals with international platforms like Netflix and Sony Pictures Television, to the production of original African films and TV series that have made waves globally.
This landmark move is intended to support solutions to the continent’s ongoing distribution limitations and is expected to be of significant benefit to filmmakers and diaspora audiences alike, reinforcing the company’s longstanding vision of putting African narratives on the global map.
“We’re opening EbonyLife Place, London, with EbonyLife Cinemas whereby, for the first time in the United Kingdom, you can walk in and watch an African film… It is going to be the first time in the United Kingdom where you can watch an African film every single day of the week”, says Mo Abudu.
EbonyLife Place is presently only located in Lagos, Nigeria. Preparations for EbonyLife Place, London, are still underway, with an official opening date tentatively slated for December 2025.