Institut des Afriques

What Institut des Afriques does

Institut des Afriques (IdAf) is a non-profit cultural organization founded in 2015 and headquartered in Pessac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, with a team of approximately 5 people. Its mission is to promote African and diasporic cultural dynamics across the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. The institute operates a portfolio of cultural programs rather than technology products: an annual Festival Afriques en vision (now in its 6th edition, scheduled for November 2026 in Bordeaux), the Résidence d'écriture francophone Afriques-Haïti (a 12-week writing residency running since 2017, split between Senegal and Nouvelle-Aquitaine), the Résidence croisée panafricaine de documentaires, year-round "Saison" programming spanning cinema, dance, literature, music, and theater, educational mediation activities for secondary schools, and a Podcast – Accès culture. Supporting infrastructure includes the Observatoire (an interactive directory and mapping of artists and cultural actors from African diasporas in France), a Centre de ressources (webinars, podcasts, thematic videos, studies), and an espace presse.

The institute's underlying technology is conventional web publishing and content distribution (a WordPress-based website, YouTube replays, newsletter, podcast distribution) rather than proprietary platforms or APIs. Its business model is primarily institutional: public funding from the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine and ALCA Nouvelle-Aquitaine underwrites programming, supplemented by modest commercial revenue from school screenings priced at €5 per student via the Pass Culture / Adage platform, with free admission for accompanying adults. Customer segments are non-commercial — artists and cultural actors from African diasporas (primary), secondary school students and educators, and the general public of Nouvelle-Aquitaine — served through events, residencies, an online resource center, and community registration via the Observatoire.

Distribution is hybrid: physical venues (Cinema Utopia Bordeaux, Cinema Utopia Palmer in Cenon, Villa Valmont in Lormont, Maison des Écritures in La Rochelle, Villa Saint-Louis Ndar in Senegal) for in-person events, schools for educational screenings, and online self-serve channels (replays, podcasts, resource center) for global reach. The organization is operationally active, with a Director-level recruitment underway in 2026 and ongoing program launches, but it has no disclosed revenue, no funding rounds, and no technology product strategy beyond content distribution.

Name

Institut des Afriques

Legal name

Institut des Afriques

Website

https://institutdesafriques.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Institut des Afriques is a French non-profit cultural organization based in Pessac, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, that promotes African and diasporic arts through an annual cinema festival, writing and documentary residencies, school screenings, and a community directory of diaspora artists and cultural actors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Arts Programming

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDADALAB

International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Education Partnerships, Intergovernmental & NGO Programs

Keywords

• Cultural institute
• African arts programming
• Film festival curation
• Artistic residency programs
• Cultural mediation

Headquarters

HQ city

Pessac

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public funding and grants: As a cultural institute in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the organization receives support from regional government bodies. Key funders include the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine and ALCA Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
2. School screening fees: The institute charges €5 per student for educational screenings as part of its cultural mediation activities, with free admission for accompanying adults.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Institut des Afriques (IdAf) is a French non-profit cultural institute that promotes African and diasporic arts in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region through an integrated portfolio of programs: an annual cinema festival (Afriques en vision), writing and documentary residency programs linking Senegal and France, school screenings and cultural mediation, an interactive Observatoire mapping African diaspora artists in France, a digital resource center, and a podcast. Activities target artists, students, and the general public across Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Product overview

Institut des Afriques (IdAf) is a cultural institute that serves as a unified platform for promoting African dynamics in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Bordeaux. Rather than a technology product, it offers an integrated portfolio of cultural programs including the Festival Afriques en vision (annual film festival), Résidence d'écriture Afriques-Haïti (writing residency), Résidence croisée panafricaine de documentaires (documentary residency), and various mediation/educational programs. Supporting infrastructure includes the Centre de ressources (resource center), Observatoire (interactive directory/mapping of diaspora artists), and Podcast Accès culture. All programs focus on African and diasporic arts, literature, cinema, and cultural exchange.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Festival Afriques en vision Annual 5-day film festival featuring screenings, debates, and meetings with filmmakers and sector professionals, focused on African cinema from the continent and its diasporas. Targeted at general audiences and the regional cultural sector in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
• Résidence d'écriture Afriques-Haïti 12-week francophone writing residency split between Senegal and Nouvelle-Aquitaine for writers from Africa and Haiti, including a €3,890 net bursary. Co-organized with ALCA Nouvelle-Aquitaine and supported by the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
• Résidence croisée panafricaine de documentaires Cross-border Pan-African documentary residency program bringing together filmmakers from across Africa for collaborative documentary creation projects.
• Centre de ressources Digital resource center containing webinars, podcasts, thematic videos, studies, and educational materials produced by Institut des Afriques and its partners.
• Observatoire Interactive directory and mapping platform presenting artists and cultural actors from African diasporas in France, with self-registration for new members to join the network.
• Médiations Mediation and educational programs including school screenings with debates, artistic workshops, thematic encounters, and cultural projects for schools and the general public. School screenings are priced at €5 per student via Pass Culture.
• Saison de l'Institut des Afriques Annual cultural season featuring events centered on African and diasporic voices in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, spanning cinema, dance, literature, music, and theater.
• Podcast – Accès culture Podcast series exploring African cultural topics, featuring conversations with artists, researchers, and cultural actors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Festival Afriques en vision: 5-day event featuring African cinema from the continent and diasporas

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Chaire Diasporas Africaines en Nouvelle-Aquitaine & TransculturalitéminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2027New academic partner joining the residency program for the 2027 edition, bringing research and academic expertise to the artistic residency.
• ALCA Nouvelle-AquitainecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ALCA Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the primary institutional partner co-organizing the residence d'écriture Afriques-Haïti since 2017. ALCA provides funding, organizational support, and manages the residency facilities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Villa Valmont in Lormont, Maison des Écritures in La Rochelle).
• Villa Saint-Louis Ndar (Sénégal)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025New partner since 2025, providing the African base for the residency program. Located in Saint-Louis, Senegal, it hosts the first phase of each residency cycle. Also handles the application process and provides the €3,890 net bursary to laureates.
• Villa Valmont (Lormont)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWriting house in Lormont (Bordeaux-Métropole) hosting one phase of the 12-week residency program. Part of the Afriques-Haïti residency network.
• Maison des Écritures de La RochellecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWriting house in La Rochelle hosting one phase of the 12-week residency program. Part of the Afriques-Haïti residency network.
• Région Nouvelle-AquitainecoreOthersRegional government body providing financial support to the institute and its programs, including the residency initiatives.
• Pass CultureminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe institute is an authorized Pass Culture partner, enabling schools to use the Pass Culture platform to cover the €5 per student screening fee through the Adage platform.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fondation Zinsou: Benin-based private cultural foundation operating a contemporary African art museum in Ouidah and programming in Paris. Comparable as a continental African-diaspora cultural platform with cross-border programming, exhibitions, and educational mediation.
• Festival des 3 Continents: Long-running annual film festival in Nantes dedicated to African, Asian, and Latin American cinema. Directly comparable to IdAf's Festival Afriques en vision as a regionally-rooted African cinema festival combining screenings, professional meetings, and educational outreach.
• Maison de l'Afrique à Paris: Paris-based cultural organization dedicated to promoting African cultures and African-French dialogue through events, conferences, and exhibitions. Closely mirrors IdAf's mission of showcasing African dynamics through cultural programming on French soil.
• Afrikamera – African Film Festival Berlin: Annual Berlin-based film festival dedicated to contemporary African cinema, with screenings, debates, and educational events. Directly comparable as a European African-cinema festival combining cultural and educational missions similar to Afriques en vision.

Others

• Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis: Prestigious French writing and arts residency in Rome operated by the Académie de France. Relevant as a benchmark residency model — comparable multi-week artist-residency structure with bursaries, though at significantly larger scale and national-institutional funding.
• ALCA – Agence Livre, Cinéma & Audiovisuel Nouvelle-Aquitaine: Regional public agency supporting literary and audiovisual creation in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and IdAf's primary institutional partner. Comparable as a regional public cultural-development agency with co-funding and residency-coordination roles.

Broad incumbents

• Institut du Monde Arabe: Major French cultural institute in Paris promoting Arab-world cultures through exhibitions, programming, and residencies. Operates an institutional cultural-institute model similar to IdAf but at vastly greater scale and with a different geographic focus.
• Cité nationale de l'histoire de l'immigration: National French institution at the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris focused on immigration history and diaspora cultural expression. Comparable institutional model and overlapping diaspora-arts mission, though with a broader immigration scope beyond African communities.
• Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac: Major Paris museum dedicated to non-European arts, with substantial African and diasporic collections and accompanying cultural programming. Represents a larger, established incumbent with overlapping African-arts curatorial mandate.

Regional players

• Maison des Écritures de La Rochelle: Writing residency house in La Rochelle that is an active partner of IdAf's Résidence Afriques-Haïti program. Operates a comparable writing-residency model in the same Nouvelle-Aquitaine region with shared residency infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=NnNRIAz6AsA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institut-des-afriques

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institut des Afriques