Canal+ acquires Rwanda’s Zacu Entertainment, plans Kinyarwanda channel

Canal+ has acquired Rwandan production and distribution outfit Zacu Entertainment as part of its ongoing commitment to increase its involvement in the African market, with plans to launch a dedicated drama channel.

The pay TV outfit said that the acquisition would enable it to significantly increase its activity in the Rwandan market, tapping into a large offering from a company that produces over 500 hours of content per year, including new movies and series, with a back-catalogue of over 700 hours of content, all in the Kinyarwanda language.

Canal+ has been active in Rwanda for over 20 years and established a dedicated subsidiary for the country in 2020. The company now plans to up its commitment by launching a dedicated Kinyarwanda drama channel. Kinyarwanda is spoken by approximately eight million Rwandans and in total by over 20 million people across central Africa.

The latest acquisition is Canal+’s third in sub-Saharan Africa, following the acquisition of Côte d’Ivoire production outfit Plan A and Nigerian production company Rok Studios.

Zacu Entertainment was created in 2017 by writer and producer Wilson Misago, who also founded the first Rwandan video-on-demand platform in 2019.

“We are delighted to welcome Zacu Entertainment and its team to the group. Rwanda accounts for numerous production and audiovisual content assets in multiple languages. As with our engagement in Francophone Africa and more recently in Ethiopia, this acquisition is testament to our desire to link up with the best creative talent for our development on the continent and elsewhere, but also our wish to produce the content desired by our subscribers to the highest level of quality,” said Fabrice Faux, director of channels and content at Canal+ International.

“I am very happy to begin this new adventure with Canal+ Group. We have the same vision which is to bring to our public content of high quality Rwanda possesses great talents and incredible stories that are still to be told. Thanks to the united expertise of Canal+ Group and Zacu Entertainment, it is time to let the entire world know about Rwanda’s production,” said Misago.