Sukuma Media and MPT Launch AfriVerts Microdrama Slate for Mobile-First Vertical Video

The inaugural collection, titled AfriVerts, comprises five original microdrama series currently in development, with each production designed as a 60-episode mobile-first series featuring bite-sized episodes of between one and three minutes.

Developed by the Microdrama Production Team (MPT), a collective convened by Sukuma Media, the slate marks a significant step in bringing African stories to the rapidly expanding global vertical content market, where audiences increasingly consume premium scripted entertainment on smartphones.

African creators embrace the next wave of storytelling

While vertical video has become mainstream through social media, scripted microdramas have emerged as one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global creator economy, particularly across Asia, North America and Europe.

MPT believes African filmmakers have a unique opportunity to participate in this rapidly evolving market rather than simply consume content created elsewhere.

"The vision for the African Microdrama Producers (AMP) network and its production unit, the MPT collective, is to foster collaboration amongst African creatives. As Africans, we need to actively participate in this space," says Bonginhlanhla "Mr. B" Ncube, convener and visionary leader of the initiative.

"The Microdrama Production Team (MPT) is different. Look at it as an action team fuelled by passion and vision. This is us saying we won't just consume content; we will actually create and participate in the value chain."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sukuma Media (@sukumamedia)

Building a new creative economy

The production collective currently consists of 35 professional filmmakers, supported by the broader African Microdrama Producers (AMP) network of more than 500 creatives from across the continent.

The initiative was established specifically to help African filmmakers enter the booming vertical storytelling market while creating sustainable business opportunities centred on locally owned intellectual property.

Busisiwe Ntintili, founder of Ntintili Factory and chairperson of the Writers Guild of South Africa, believes the format presents significant commercial potential for African creatives.

"Microdrama offers real opportunities for creators to tell compelling stories while responding to the changing ways audiences consume content," she says.

"From a business point of view, it's also an opportunity for us to reimagine better business models that put creatives at the centre and that protect creative IP."

Ntintili has already trained the first cohort of writers and creators developing the AfriVerts slate and serves as one of three executive producers overseeing the productions.

Lean production, global ambition

Each AfriVerts series is designed around an agile production model that prioritises speed, efficiency and quality.

Productions will be filmed over five to eight days, using small crews, limited locations and carefully planned production schedules that enable rapid turnaround while maintaining strong storytelling standards.

According to executive producer Kopedi Aphane of APN Pictures, the format creates opportunities for both established and emerging talent.

"Microdramas are important in Africa because they present a golden opportunity to show how vast our stories are," says Aphane.

"They fit any global format that has a market for content consumption. They're also an avenue for new talent to enter the stage, and they teach us to be adaptive, be lean and have quick turnarounds."

Protecting African intellectual property

Beyond production efficiencies, MPT has deliberately structured its model to ensure African creators retain ownership of their intellectual property while building commercially viable businesses.

By keeping production costs accessible and developing scalable production systems, the collective hopes to establish a framework that can be replicated across the continent.

Executive producer Neiloe Whitehead, founder of Black Seed Film Hub, says the initiative aims to place African creatives at the forefront of an emerging global content category.

"MPT was established to give us a chance of being frontrunners to shape a new way of storytelling using the vertical drama format," says Whitehead.

"We have been monitoring its performance on a global scale and are excited about the mark African creators will make."

African stories for global screens

As demand for mobile-first entertainment continues to accelerate, the AfriVerts initiative represents more than a new production slate. It signals Africa's ambition to become an active participant in the international vertical content economy.

With plans already underway to expand the model into other African countries, MPT is betting that authentic African storytelling, combined with agile production methods and creator-owned intellectual property, can position the continent as a competitive player in one of entertainment's fastest-growing formats.

For South Africa's creative sector, the launch of AfriVerts highlights how digital innovation is opening new pathways for filmmakers to reach global audiences while building sustainable businesses rooted in African stories, talent and creative ownership.

The selected projects

Things We Don't Post | Created by Thando Dlamini

Ayanda lives a double life. Online, she’s a glamorous influencer jet-setting around the world. In real life, she’s broke, unemployed and desperate. When an eviction notice shows up at her door, she has 48 hours to come up with the rent money or be homeless.

I Gave My Boss a Love Potion | Created by Neiloe Whitehead

Zandi is in love with her boss but her boss doesn’t know she exists. In a desperate attempt to make him notice her, she buys a love potion from a sangoma. And it works! Too well for Zandi’s liking.

I Married My Dead Husband's Brother | Created by Thabang Chochoe-Molibeli

In keeping with tradition, a wealthy widow from a poor background is forced to marry her late “husband’s” brother.

Ubuntu Academy of isiZulu | Created by Edward Neo Nkosi

A language classroom in downtown Johannesburg teaches immigrants the Zulu language. But when a protest gathers outside wanting to deport illegal foreigners, the students inside the classroom have to decide whether to sell out one of their own.

My Cousin Maid Stole My Life | Created by Stha Shabangu

A busy corporate executive wife hires her cousin to be her live-in housemaid, thinking it will help bring her closer to her distant husband and child. But the new housemaid quickly worms her way into her family, stealing the affections of her child and then the kisses of her husband.