Nigerian media entrepreneur and filmmaker Mosunmola “Mo” Abudu has unveiled a major cultural venture in the heart of London, establishing a dedicated platform for African cinema, black storytelling, fashion, art and music in a city that has long served as a global meeting point for cultures.
Named EbonyLife Place London, the new centre is located close to the Houses of Parliament and the iconic Big Ben clock tower. Concealed behind a massive concrete facade, the two-storey establishment is scheduled to open to the public this weekend, marking what is described as a first-of-its-kind cultural destination in Britain and Europe.
For Abudu, the project represents far more than an expansion of her business interests. It is a statement about African identity, creative independence and the need for Africans and people of African descent to tell their stories on their own terms.
“It’s time to tell our own stories,” she told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “I want to showcase the best of who we are, celebrate who we are. Let them see us at our very best.”
The ambition reflects a central theme in Abudu’s career: building platforms through which African creativity can reach audiences beyond the continent, while challenging the limited representation of African experiences in international entertainment.
Born in London, the 62-year-old entrepreneur has built a media empire extending well beyond Nigeria. Her EbonyLife brand has become a prominent force in Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, contributing to the growing international visibility of Nigerian productions and African-centred narratives. In 2025, Forbes ranked her among the world’s 100 most influential women.
Now, with EbonyLife Place London, she is bringing that vision into the British capital, creating a physical destination where African stories can be experienced through film, food, fashion, visual art and music.
Abudu describes the new venture as “literally a blank canvas” and “a bit of a mad dream”, acknowledging both the scale of the ambition and the determination required to turn it into reality.
Her motivation, however, is rooted in a question about the global circulation of culture and the extent to which African creativity has been given room to travel.
“We have to make the journey because the thing is that we have consumed so much of the world. How much of the world has consumed us?” she asked.
The question captures the imbalance she hopes to address: while audiences across Africa have long consumed international films, music and fashion, African cultural products have not always enjoyed comparable access to prominent international platforms.
For Abudu, the solution is not simply to wait for existing institutions to create more opportunities for African filmmakers and artists. It is to establish spaces in which their work can be presented directly to global audiences.
Her personal experiences in Britain helped shape that conviction.
“I could never go anywhere during my youth and watch a black movie,” she recalled, reflecting on her upbringing in England and the limited opportunities available to audiences seeking films centred on black experiences.
That memory has become part of the rationale for establishing a venue where African films and black cultural expression will occupy centre stage rather than remain on the margins of mainstream programming.
“I’m not waiting anymore for anyone to take a six-hour trip from London to understand what it is to watch a Nigerian film or to see Nigerian fashion and so on. It’s right here in London.”
A cultural destination beyond the cinema
Although its cinema is the centrepiece, EbonyLife Place London has been conceived as a broader lifestyle and cultural destination.
The two-storey venue houses a bar, a lounge named “Fẹhinti”, a restaurant and a boutique showcasing designers from Africa and its diaspora. The Yoruba word “Fẹhinti” evokes the idea of leaning back and resting, reflecting the relaxed atmosphere the lounge seeks to provide.
Artworks by artists from across the African continent adorn the walls, reinforcing the establishment’s emphasis on presenting African creativity through multiple disciplines.
At the heart of the development is the new cinema, equipped with red seating, wood panelling and subdued lighting to create an intimate viewing environment. It has been named “Amani”, a Swahili word meaning peace and harmony.
The cinema is intended to serve as a dedicated platform for films that foreground African experiences, black performers and stories that might otherwise struggle to secure consistent exhibition opportunities in mainstream venues.
By combining film screenings with dining, shopping, art and social spaces, Abudu is seeking to create an environment in which audiences can engage with African culture as a complete experience rather than through isolated events.
The concept builds on a model she introduced in Lagos in 2019, when she launched an upscale lifestyle complex under the EbonyLife Place brand. The London venture extends that approach into an international market, bringing African cultural products closer to audiences in Europe.
The project has been financed almost entirely by Abudu’s media group, underlining the scale of the company's commitment to developing its own cultural infrastructure.
‘Creating our own spaces’
For Abudu, the importance of the new centre lies not only in the films it will screen but also in the independence it represents for African creatives.
She believes filmmakers, artists, designers and other cultural practitioners must take greater responsibility for creating platforms that can sustain their work and connect them with new audiences.
Rather than continually seeking acceptance within established cultural institutions, she argues, African creatives should develop spaces where their work can be presented on its own terms.
Her message is clear: they must “take responsibility for creating our own spaces”.
Abudu has described EbonyLife Place London as a “safe space”, envisioning it as a welcoming environment for cultural expression, discovery and exchange.
She explained the concept in practical terms: “you can shop our fashion, you can view our art, you can listen to our music, and we can tell our stories”.
The emphasis on creating a shared cultural destination is significant in a city such as London, whose population includes communities with roots across Africa and its diaspora. The centre offers an opportunity to bring together filmmakers, artists, fashion enthusiasts and audiences interested in exploring the continent's cultural diversity.
However, Abudu has made it clear that the venue is not intended to be exclusive to Africans or people of African descent.
Entry will operate through a membership scheme, although the details of the arrangement have yet to be announced. While membership-based access is familiar in Britain's cultural and social landscape, the organisers have not disclosed the specific terms that will govern participation.
Abudu, however, insists that nationality and ethnicity will not determine who can become a member.
“Membership is open to everyone,” she said.
The policy reflects the project's broader ambition: to celebrate African culture while inviting audiences from different backgrounds to experience, understand and appreciate its many expressions.
African cinema takes centre stage
The cinema's full programme is still being finalised, but its intended direction is firmly established.
Abudu says the venue will present films from across the African continent, embracing the diversity of its national cinemas, languages, artistic traditions and storytelling styles.
“We will have films from all parts of Africa. Everything should be on the table. We would show movies that celebrate black actors, black storytelling; that is why we are here,” she said.
The commitment to continental representation suggests a programme extending beyond the commercial success of Nollywood to encompass the wider history and diversity of African filmmaking.
Asked whether the cinema would screen works by Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene, widely regarded as a pioneer of African cinema, and Algerian filmmaker Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, whose Chronicle of the Years of Fire won the Palme d’Or at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival, Abudu responded with an emphatic “yes”.
Such a programme would connect contemporary audiences with the filmmakers who helped establish African cinema as a significant artistic force on the international stage, while providing room for newer generations to explore different perspectives and cinematic traditions.
The centre will also showcase productions from Abudu's own media company, alongside films featuring black actors, including the next instalment in the Black Panther series.
Opening-week screenings are expected to feature Nigerian filmmakers, including Nwani Orire and Ifeyinwa Arinze, placing Nigerian creative talent at the forefront of the venue's launch.
The combination of established African cinema, contemporary productions and commercially prominent black-led films could help the venue appeal to audiences with different tastes, from dedicated cinephiles to viewers discovering African storytelling for the first time.
It also presents an opportunity to strengthen the visibility of African filmmakers in a major international city, where access to specialised screening spaces can help build audiences for films that may not receive widespread theatrical distribution.
From London to a wider global ambition
EbonyLife Place London is another step in Abudu's long-standing effort to extend African storytelling beyond national and continental boundaries.
Through her media ventures, she has helped position Nollywood as an increasingly visible participant in the international entertainment industry. The new centre takes that ambition beyond production and distribution by creating a physical space where audiences can encounter African culture in several forms.
Its location near some of Britain's most recognisable political landmarks also places the project within a city whose cultural influence extends across Europe and the wider world.
For African creatives, the venture could provide a meeting point for collaboration, exposure and audience development. For visitors, it promises an opportunity to discover films, designers, artists and cultural experiences that may be less visible in conventional entertainment and retail settings.
Yet the project also carries a broader question: how can African cultural institutions build sustainable international audiences while retaining the authenticity and diversity of the stories they present?
Abudu's answer appears to lie in ownership, investment and the deliberate creation of spaces where African creativity is not an afterthought but the central attraction.
And London may not be the final destination.
Asked about the possibility of expanding the concept to other European cities, she expressed interest in taking the model to France.
“I would love to do the same thing in Paris, perhaps through a partnership. I’m always open to collaborating with others,” she said.
For now, the immediate focus is on establishing EbonyLife Place London as a home for African film and black culture in the British capital.
What began as a personal ambition shaped by Abudu's experiences of growing up in England has evolved into an ambitious cultural enterprise—one built around the conviction that African stories deserve not only to be told, but also to be seen, celebrated and experienced by the world.