1. ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites applications from experienced producers who own or manage a South African production company.
The Sediba Creative Enterprise Programme is business training. It is not a craft or development programme, and it is not about a single film. Across eleven contact days you work on your own company: how it earns, what it owns, how it is financed, and how it reaches the market.
You leave with a three-year business plan, a financial model, a costed market-access roadmap and an investor-ready pitch, which you present to a panel of funders, commissioners, financiers and buyers.
Twenty producers are selected. There is no cost to participate.
2. WHO SHOULD APPLY
This programme is for the person who makes the commercial decisions in a production company: the owner, the director, or the managing producer.
It is not for line producers, production managers or heads of department working under commission. The programme produces a plan for a business, and you must be able to implement it.
Your company must operate in film, television, documentary, animation or digital content production.
Twenty places are available. Ten are allocated to producers based in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and ten to producers based in the remaining provinces.
3. WHAT THE PROGRAMME COVERS
| Focus Area | Content |
| Revenue architecture | How money moves through a production company: commissioning fees, licensing, co-production, brand-funded work, subscription and advertising revenue. Unit economics, and where margin sits in each model. |
| Financial management | Company accounting against production accounting. Cash flow, working capital and breakeven for the business rather than for a single production. Building a three-year financial model. |
| Intellectual property as an asset | Chain of title, rights splits and exploitation windows. Why work-for-hire caps company growth. Format, adaptation and merchandising rights. Valuing a slate. Contract terms that retain ownership, and the terms that give it away. |
| Capital and funding | NFVF funding instruments, the DTIC production incentive, IDC media finance, the NEF and provincial film commissions. Debt, gap finance and equity. Co-production treaties. Structuring a finance plan at company level. |
| Market access and growth | Sales agents, distributors and platform deals. Positioning and pricing a slate. Moving from project-based to slate-based operations: organisational design, hiring, governance and systems. |
| One-on-one consultation | Scheduled individual sessions with the facilitator and business consultants on your own business model, financial model, rights position and market-access roadmap. |
Every session is applied to your own company. There are no case studies.
4. WHAT YOU WILL PRODUCE
Four deliverables, all at company level. Certification depends on all four.
- A three-year business plan for your company
- A three-year financial model, with cash flow, breakeven and funding requirement
- A costed market-access roadmap naming target buyers, markets and timing
- An investor-ready pitch, presented to the panel on 28 January 2027
5. FORMAT AND DATES
| Component | Dates | Format |
| Week 1: taught intensive | 23 – 27 November 2026 | In person, Johannesburg, 09h00 – 16h00 |
| Week 2: consultation | 30 November – 4 December 2026 | Online, 09h00 – 13h00 |
| Refinement period | 7 December 2026 – 22 January 2027 | Independent work, with two online check-ins on 11 December and 15 January |
| Final pitch and certification | 28 January 2027 | Online |
The refinement period gives you four working weeks to finish the plan using your own company data, test assumptions with your accountant, and rehearse before you pitch.
6. WHAT THE NFVF COVERS
There is no participation fee. The NFVF covers:
- Facilitation, guest expert sessions and one-on-one business consultation
- Venue and catering for the in-person week
- Flights, accommodation and ground transport for selected producers who need to travel to Johannesburg
- A data allowance for the online components
- Learning materials, financial modelling templates and business plan toolkits
Not covered: your own time, fees charged by your own accountant or attorney, and any cost outside the programme.
7. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
You must meet all of the following:
- You own or manage a registered South African production company
- You are the owner, director or managing producer with commercial decision-making authority over the business
- The company has traded actively for a minimum of two years, or you hold three or more years of senior or middle management experience in production
- You hold at least one produced credit as producer, co-producer or executive producer
- You can provide financial statements or management accounts for the most recent financial year
8. SELECTION CRITERIA
Applications that meet the eligibility criteria are scored against a weighted rubric. Preference is given to:
- Ownership of proprietary intellectual property
- Job creation potential, evidenced by current headcount and a stated growth plan
- Women-owned and youth-owned companies
- Companies based in underserved provinces
Shortlisted applicants are interviewed online between 9 and 11 November 2026.
9. HOW TO APPLY
Submit the following. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
- Completed application form
- A written motivation of no more than two pages, setting out why you want to scale your business, what is currently preventing it, and what you intend to do with the plan the programme produces
- A one-minute motivation video
- Your producer CV and company profile
- Showreel or a list of produced credits
- Company registration documents
- Financial statements or management accounts for the most recent financial year
The written motivation carries significant weight in scoring. Write it about the business, not about a project you want funded.
10. KEY DATES
| Milestone | Date |
| Call opens | Tuesday, 22 September 2026 |
| Call closes | Friday, 23 October 2026 at 17h00 |
| Shortlist interviews | 9 – 11 November 2026 |
| Successful applicants notified | 13 November 2026 |
| Week 1: taught intensive, Johannesburg | 23 – 27 November 2026 |
| Week 2: online consultation | 30 November – 4 December 2026 |
| Refinement period | 7 December 2026 – 22 January 2027 |
| Final pitch and certification | 28 January 2027 |
11. ENQUIRIES AND SUBMISSIONS
| Purpose | Detail |
| Programme enquiries | Leron Adonis Industry Training and Development Manager lerona@nfvf.co.za |
| Application submissions | training@nfvf.co.za Subject line: Sediba Creative Enterprise Programme – [Company Name] |
| Closing time | Friday, 23 October 2026 at 17h00. Late applications will not be considered. |
12. TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- Incomplete or late applications will not be considered
- Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted
- Selected participants sign a participation agreement with a minimum attendance requirement of 80% and agreed deliverable deadlines
- Attendance at the in-person week in Johannesburg is compulsory
- Company information shared during the programme is treated as confidential, and facilitators, consultants and panel members sign non-disclosure agreements
- The NFVF reserves the right not to fill all places if applications do not meet the eligibility criteria
- The decision of the NFVF is final