Canal+ inaugurated the Mancala Studios on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, in Abidjan, a complex of three sets designed to produce more than 1,000 hours of programming per year and to strengthen the capacities of the African audiovisual sector.
Located in Cocody Riviera Golf, the site features a 380 m² area that can accommodate up to 250 people, a 160 m² space intended notably for magazines and debate shows, as well as a 90 m² studio designed for short and digital formats. These features were detailed by Sika Finance and corroborated by APAnews.
The complex covers several stages of program production, from filming to post-production, with three independent control rooms, editing rooms, mixing rooms, and color grading rooms. It is also equipped for live production and broadcasting, according to the information presented during the inauguration.
The facilities will host productions from the Canal+ group channels without being exclusively reserved for them. The group indicates that the studios will also be accessible to external producers, broadcasters, agencies, institutions, and companies, in order to pool equipment that is difficult to finance separately.
Training constitutes another component of the project. Partnerships with ISTC Polytechnique and INSAAC are expected to facilitate the hosting of students, internships on the sets, placements, and exchanges with professionals under real production conditions.
Canal+ already claims to produce more than 10,000 hours of content each year in about thirty languages in Francophone Africa. With Mancala, the group aims to increase its local production capacity and promote new formats led by African creators and technicians.
The ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Communication and Government Spokesperson, Amadou Coulibaly, and the Minister of Culture and Francophonie, Françoise Remarck. The latter linked the project to the policy Côte d’Ivoire, land of filming, while her colleague emphasized the need to make infrastructure accessible to producers.
The project was launched in 2024 and the building was handed over in May 2026, according to Sika Finance. The site is also intended to showcase Ivorian production capabilities during the International Audiovisual Content Fair scheduled to take place in Abidjan from November 26 to 28, 2026.
