Triggerfish Animation Studio, Goon Valley Animation Studio, and the European Union’s Team Europe Initiative – Investing in Young Businesses in Africa #TEIIYBA, are proud to announce the forthcoming release of The Living Tapestry, a pan-African animated short film with a social mission.
The film is available to all organisations wishing to organise screenings and discussions on women’s entrepreneurship. We hope it will be a true source of inspiration and that it will drive change across the continent and beyond.
Why this film ?
Entrepreneurs across Africa generate over half of the continent's GDP and nearly 80% of its jobs, a staggering economic contribution. Yet women and young people continue to face significant barriers to accessing opportunity and participating fairly in the labor market.The Living Tapestry is a creative response to that imbalance. Rather than a traditional documentary or advocacy piece, it's a work of animated storytelling designed to challenge societal norms and help cultivate a bolder, more inclusive entrepreneurial culture across Africa.
A story of interconnection
At just 6.5 minutes long, The Living Tapestry packs a powerful narrative punch. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Nadia Darries, the film reframes entrepreneurship not as an individual pursuit, but as an evolving, interconnected ecosystem, one where women are central architects of change.
Produced by Triggerfish Animation Studios and Goon Valley Studio for the TEI IYBA, and represented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the film draws its visual identity from the rich tradition of African textiles.
Through this lens, women entrepreneurs are portrayed as the threads holding communities together, building businesses while simultaneously fostering innovation and opening doors for future generations.
Crucially, the film doesn't isolate its protagonists' journeys. Instead, it places them within a broader web of mentorship, collaboration, and collective progress, underscoring just how essential relationships and support networks are to entrepreneurial success.
Made by many hands, across many borders
What makes The Living Tapestry especially distinctive is how it was made. The film emerged from a unique Pan-African co-creation process, bringing together artists, entrepreneurs, and creatives from seven countries: South Africa, Kenya, Togo, Benin, Senegal, Tanzania, and Malawi. It mirrors the film's own message. Just as the story champions collaboration over isolation, its production process modeled the same principle, weaving diverse perspectives into one shared creative vision.
The result sits at the intersection of art and impact: a genuine cinematic experience that doubles as a tool for social change. By presenting an ecosystem-based, community-rooted view of entrepreneurship, rather than the more individualistic narratives often seen in mainstream media, the film pushes back against convention and reflects African realities on their own terms.
Available in English, French, and Swahili, The Living Tapestry aims to shift mindsets around gender and enterprise, spotlighting women as key agents of innovation and encouraging more inclusive approaches to economic development across the continent.
A journey that continues
This isn't the film's first outing. Over the past weeks, The Living Tapestry has already reached wide audiences through partner broadcast channels and has been screened at numerous festivals, gaining momentum with every showing.
Now, with its public release, the goal is to extend that journey even further, inviting everyone, everywhere, to watch, discuss, and be inspired.
Bring the film to your community
Organizations interested in screening The Living Tapestry or hosting a discussion event around its themes can request access to a full set of resources, including:
• A screening event and animation facilitation guides
• Synopsis
• Trailers
• Posters
For screening requests and resources, contact our Com. officers:
Maxwell Kwaku – IYBA WE4A maxwell.kwaku@giz.de
Sandrine Fagnoni – IYBA SEED sandrine.fagnoni@expertisefrance.fr
