Africa No Filter Comedy Lab for Talented Africans 2023

Are you Africa’s next top comedian? The Africa No Filter Comedy Lab is looking for talented African comedians to develop fresh and unfiltered content about Africa. We are looking for funny, unique content that changes how the world sees your community, country or the continent.

To get a chance at this opportunity, you need to create one comedy skit that’s between 45 seconds and one minute long and post it on your Facebook page, Instagram or Tik Tok. You must tag @Africanofilter and use the hashtags #ANFComedyLab and #BetterRepresentation.

The skit should carry a powerful storyline that positively portrays an African country or Africa or challenge pre-existing African stereotypical narratives in a funny, ground-breaking and engaging way.

About Africa No Filter

Africa No Filter is a donor collaborative that supports the development of nuanced and contemporary stories that shift stereotypical and harmful narratives within and about Africa.Through research, grant-making and advocacy we aim to build the field of narrative change-makers by supporting storytellers, investing in media platforms and driving disruption campaigns. ANF’s goal over time is to leave an empowered narrative change ecosystem and an informed community of storytellers who work more deliberately to change harmful narratives within and about Africa.... read more... read more

Africa No Filter Comedy Lab

Aim and Benefits of Africa No Filter Comedy Lab

Comedians who join the ANF Comedy Lab will get grants of up to $3,000 to create new 10-minute skits. Comedians will also be supported to take their storytelling to the next level through masterclasses and mentorship. They’ll also get marketing support to amplify their skits.

Skits created through the ANF Comedy Lab will also have a digital showcase.

Requirements for Africa No Filter Comedy Lab Qualification

• Open to African comedians aged over 18 and based anywhere on the continent.
• Comedians must have a combined audience of minimum 3,000 followers on Instagram, their Facebook page and TikTok.
• Only individual comedians can apply.
• The comedian must be unsigned (not represented by an agent or management company).
• All forms of comedy are welcomed (stand-up, music, sketch, etc.) as long as they are delivered in a digital format and are completely original, innovative and exciting.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Africa No Filter Comedy Lab

Winners will be selected on the quality of content, comedic delivery, relevance to ANF’s mission of telling African stories beyond stereotypes, and audience engagement across social media.

First Round of the Competition: A first round of selection will be made based on the audience reach of the comedians (at least 3,000 followers across your Facebook page, Instagram and Tik Tok), the public vote (number of likes captured by the competition videos) and the quality of the content. Your submission will be disqualified if we suspect that your post or account has been promoted or boosted by any financial means.

Second Round of Competition: Comedians whose content is compelling, relevant to ANF’s mission of better representation for Africa and has high engagement on social media platforms will advance to the final round of selections.

Our group of mentors - made up of professional comics - will make a shortlist of candidates. They will use the quality of the content and storytelling, as well as social media engagement and relevance to ANF’s mission of representing Africa beyond stereotypes to shortlist candidates. The shortlisted applicants will then meet the judging panel for online interviews.

Only shortlisted will be notified of the status of their application, by 17 July 2023.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

After creating your skit, you must submit an online application on ANF’s website. Make sure you include links to your skits. The content can be delivered in English or French.

For more details, visit ANF website