Idris Elba on empowering creators across Africa, AI, and rewriting narratives

The best thing about the digital age: Anyone can share their story. A child in a village can upload something today and reach millions tomorrow. That’s revolutionary. But there’s a problem. Many African creators who go viral can’t actually get paid. Banking restrictions and digital barriers lock them out of their own success.

The promise of access remains uneven. Infrastructure, financing, distribution, ownership. The building blocks of a healthy creative economy lag behind in many regions, particularly in Africa.

That’s why Elba created Akunna, a platform named after his own middle name. “I was born on a Wednesday. Wednesday has always been lucky for me,” he laughs. The platform is built to solve real, practical problems. The biggest one? Getting paid.

Its main feature is the Akunna Wallet, designed to help creators actually receive their earnings when traditional banking systems fail them.

“It doesn’t make your story better,” Elba says. “But if your story is good, you actually see value from it. That’s how we democratize creation.”

Elba believes Africa has something other content markets don’t: the ability to skip old systems and build something entirely new. Stop comparing Africa to established content nations, he says. Instead, recognize its unique advantage. The ability to leapfrog.

He points to Afrobeats as proof. A genre that started in small studios, often with outdated equipment, that now dominates global charts.

“Instinct plus access created something unstoppable,” he says.

He sees that same energy everywhere across the continent. Young people launching startups from laptops. Animators creating worlds no one has imagined. Filmmakers rewriting tired Western narratives about Africa.

“There are so many stories that haven’t been touched,” he says. “Imagine what African gaming could be. Imagine what African fantasy could look like.”

For Elba, not having decades of old infrastructure isn’t a weakness. It’s space. A blank canvas for new systems, new frameworks, and new ways of building creative economies.

In a world drowning in information, Elba says the real challenge isn’t getting attention. It’s earning trust.

“We’re at a moment of acceleration and fracture,” he says. “People don’t know what to believe. Communication is everything.”

From misinformation to deepfakes, the challenge isn’t just about who gets to speak anymore. It’s about how audiences can tell truth from noise.

That’s where good policy comes in. Elba is direct about its importance. “Many people don’t understand what good policy can do. If you want a healthy creative ecosystem, you need infrastructure, distribution, protection. All of it. Look at Korea. Their global success wasn’t an accident. It was planned.”

His criticism is sharp when it comes to Africa. Some countries don’t even have a film policy.

“How can a young person tell their story if the system around them doesn’t value it?” he asks.

When people worry that AI will steal creative jobs, Elba stays calm. “We have actual intelligence,” he says. “That is more powerful than artificial intelligence.”

Yes, AI can spread misinformation and distort narratives. Especially about Africa, which has suffered decades of misrepresentation. But Elba rejects fear-based thinking.

“It’s a tool. The printing press was a tool. A camera was a tool. We need to educate people about what AI is and what it isn’t. We shouldn’t be afraid of it.”

Will jobs change? Absolutely. But Elba believes the core of creativity, instinct, human experience, emotion, cannot be automated.

“What we need are frameworks. Frameworks that guide how AI is used, how creators are protected, and how stories remain authentic.”