Happy Bloo Monday 👋

The weekly newsletter for business owners, organisations, team members, and solo entrepreneurs (freelancers) — designed to add some colour to the Monday blues and replace it with a touch of Bloo 💙.

This week, we’re bringing the spotlight to the intersection of fintech and film and a game-changing opportunity for South African creatives.

In this week’s edition of Bloo Mondays, we’ll be covering:

• 🎬 Fintech x Film — highlights from our recent workshop at HEATSKRS CON and why the business side of creativity matters now more than ever

• 💰 The R26 Billion Opportunity — what the Canal+ x MultiChoice deal means for filmmakers and the local content industry

• 🚀 How to Make the Most of It — practical steps to position your production company to secure funding, partnerships, and market access

• 💙 How Bloo Money Can Help — from compliance to cashflow, how we’re helping production companies gear up for success

🎬 Workshop Recap: Fintech x Film — Finance for Filmmakers

We kicked off the month of August by taking the stage at HEATSKRS CON to host an immersive Fintech x Film workshop as part of the next phase of our Bloo Grape Film Showcase.

In partnership with Grapefruit Gardens and supported by the amazing teams at Hollard Film Guarantors, Multichoice and of course BAI Foundation.

Here’s what went down:

📖 The Producer’s Playbook — Jordy Sank from Sanktuary Films broke down strategies to secure funding, get projects supported, and other practical tips to navigate the complex landscape of film finance.

💡 A Guide to Distribution & ROI — Matthew Sive from Blue Gum Media shared a sales agent’s perspective on monetizing films and building long-term revenue streams.

🛡 Protecting Your Production — Gail Radnitz from Hollard Film Guarantors explained how to budget for risk, common mistakes producers make on their budget and how bonding a film works to get your project to completion.

📲 The Bloo Money Blueprint — Our very own Thulani Masebenza demonstrated how our app helps production companies and freelancers simplify invoicing, track budgets, and keep funders happy that production accounting standards are being met.

The big takeaway?
📌 Financial mastery is just as important as creative mastery. If your production’s financial processes are messy, you risk delays, strained relationships, and missed opportunities no matter how good the script is.

Stay tuned: Over the coming weeks, we’ll be diving deeper into each of these topics in the newsletter so you can apply the same strategies to your own productions.

💰 The R26 Billion opportunity for South African Film makers

Last month, South Africa’s Competition Tribunal officially approved Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice creating a broadcasting giant with unmatched reach across the continent.

But here’s where it gets exciting for filmmakers.

The Commission’s approval came with measures aimed at protecting jobs, promoting local content, and ensuring inclusive economic participation.

As part of the deal’s binding public-interest conditions, R26 billion (USD $1.4 billion) will be deployed over the next three years into:

• Local content production

• Sports

• Supplier development

• SMME participation for black-owned businesses in the MultiChoice value chain

Both Canal+ and MultiChoice have welcomed these commitments, with their CEOs highlighting the opportunity to create “a true entertainment champion” for Africa.

The scale of the new media empire:

• Canal+ operates in 25 African countries with 8 million subscribers

• MultiChoice operates in 50+ countries with 19.3 million subscribers

• Combined, they form a Pan-African powerhouse with 27M+ subscribers eager for high-quality African storytelling

With an estimated R26 billion flowing into the Film & Television ecosystem by 2028, South African filmmakers have a unique window to secure funding, distribution, and partnerships for projects that can scale beyond local audiences.

Two big advantages for producers:

1. Guaranteed spend on local content — This is regulatory, not optional.

2. Access to a pan-African audience — Canal+’s footprint means your productions could reach viewers across 25+ markets. With the goal from the deal being the promotion of South African continent in new markets.

🎬 How to make the most of the opportunity

1️⃣ Pitch Beyond Single Projects
The funding window runs until 2028 — present multi-year ideas, not just one-off films.

2️⃣ Be ‘Production Ready’
Have your scripts, budgets, financing plans, and delivery timelines ready. Funders will prioritise projects that can start quickly.

3️⃣ Integrate Supplier Development
Include historically disadvantaged persons in your projects, not just as a tick box experience but also for impact. As well as showcasing how skills-transfer and up-skilling the youth are directly integrated into your production budgets.

4️⃣ Adopt a Pan-African Lens 🌍
With Canal+’s continental presence, projects that can resonate across multiple African markets will have a competitive advantage.

5️⃣ Negotiate While the Market’s Hot
The regulatory pressure means Canal+ is more open to favourable terms now from licensing deals to AVOD rights. Strike whilst the iron is hot.

💙 How Bloo can help you

With R26 billion earmarked for local content and supplier development. Filmmakers and production companies have a golden window to secure funding and distribution.

But opportunity without preparation is a missed shot. That’s where we come in.

We’re not just another fintech app we’re backed by the MultiChoice Innovation Fund, and we’ve already worked with production companies delivering projects for MultiChoice.

That means:

• We understand MultiChoice’s procurement processes and timelines

• We know how to navigate the reporting and compliance requirements

• We’ve seen first-hand what helps production companies continue getting work from Multichoice after landing their first project.

When you work with us, you’re not starting from scratch you’re building with a partner that’s already inside the ecosystem you’re trying to enter.

Some tips to make the most of the opportunity:

Get Your Production Company Compliance-Ready
Funding and procurement contracts especially with major players like MultiChoice and Canal+ — require strict compliance:

• Up-to-date BEE certificates, tax clearance, and CIPC records

• Valid supplier on-boarding documentation

• Financial systems that can produce audit-ready reports on demand to show you’re using the budget effectively.

Bloo Money helps you get all of this in place quickly so you never miss out because of admin bottlenecks.

🔥 Let’s connect

That’s it for this week folks and looking forward to seeing you again next week Monday.