He reels off a list of countries where local animators are starting to make their mark: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, South Africa, Mozambique and Burkina Faso.

“Wherever we’ve been able to scratch the surface and connect the community, we’ve found pretty exceptional talent and the majority of this talent is self-taught,” he says.

But while stories of self-taught animators breaking into the industry are inspiring, more formal training opportunities do need to be developed, he says.

Doh D Daiga is a Cameroonian animator who lives in Burkina Faso. He’s responsible for skills and development at the African Animation Network.

“My experience in this industry shows me there exists an immense pool of young, talented and creative minds that never get to the see the day,” he says.

“The only problem keeping Africa behind is a lack of training.”

Recently, partnerships have been announced with international animation studios Toonz Media Group and Baboon Animation. Both companies plan to establish animation academies in Africa, adding to the handful that exist already.