Mo Abudu Opens New Cinema and African Cultural Center in London

Media mogul Mo Abudu has opened EbonyLife Place London, a permanent home for Black and African film, culture, and artists in southwest London. The venue opened during the London Film Festival, with Mayor Sadiq Khan and other notable figures from the U.K. and Nigeria in attendance.

The multi-story cultural center brings together a cinema, a Nigerian restaurant, a boutique with pieces from Black and African designers, and an art collection.  Abudu funded EbonyLife Place almost entirely through her EbonyLife Group, determined to give African storytelling a dedicated home in London. 

From London to Lagos

Abudu was born in West London to Nigerian parents. She grew up mostly in the U.K. but lived in Nigeria with her grandparents from age seven to 11. As one of the few African children in her area, she often encountered her peers’ negative views of the continent. She recalls being asked questions such as, “Do you guys live in trees and holes in Africa?” and “Do you guys dance around fires?” Those views troubled her. She knew a different Africa—one full of talented people whose achievements were often overshadowed by misleading Western portrayals.

Abudu attended West Kent College and studied for a master’s degree in human resource management at the University of Westminster in London. Her first job was at Atlas Recruitment Consultancy firm. She also worked at Starform Communications and New Age Communications before returning to Nigeria to manage the human resources and administration division at ExxonMobil. By 2000, she founded her own human resource firm in Nigeria, Vic Lawrence & Associates, now one of the country’s leading outsourcing firms. She also helped conceptualize and develop the Protea Hotel, Oakwood Park, the first of its type in Nigeria. 

Abudu credits her early career with giving her a foundation in corporate structures and business discipline. Despite excelling in these industries, she still felt called to media as a way to challenge the negative perceptions that she grew up facing. 

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Building a Media Empire

With no media experience whatsoever, Abudu founded Inspire Africa, an edutainment company designed to inspire, educate, motivate, and entertain. Its flagship project “Moments with Mo” became Africa’s first Pan-African Talk show, presented and produced by Abudu. She pitched DSTV five different pilots before it agreed to license the show. It aired in 2006 and later grew to include several syndicated spinoffs.

Abudu then started EbonyLife TV, a pan-African platform focused on creating a more positive narrative about Africa. Launched on DSTV in 2013, it was Africa’s first global Black entertainment and lifestyle network. The platform helped produce aspirational series, including “The Governor,” the story of Nigeria’s first female state Governor; “Desperate Housewives Africa,” based on the Disney original; “Sons of the Caliphate” and “Caste & Castle,” Africa’s first premium legal series. EbonyLife TV created more than 5,000 hours of African programming. 

In 2014, Abudu moved into filmmaking with EbonyLife Films, which has produced hits including “Fifty,” “The Wedding Party,” “Chief Daddy,” “Royal Hibiscus Hotel,” and “Your Excellency.” EbonyLife TV partnered with Sony Pictures Television in 2018 to co-produce “The Dahome Warriors.” Abudu also executive produced Òlòtūré, a feature film that exposes human trafficking in Nigeria, which premiered on Netflix in 2020. The production company has signed deals with Netflix, AMC Networks, Will and Jada Smith’s Westbrook Studios, BBC Media, and Lionsgate TV. 

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EbonyLife Group

Today, Abudu is CEO of EbonyLife Group, one of Africa’s leading media conglomerates. It includes EbonyLife Media, an African production house, home to EbonyLife TV, EbonyLife Films and EbonyLife Studios. Through a number of production deals with international studios, broadcasters, and platforms, its content has gone global. Abudu founded the EbonyLife Creative Academy in 2021. In partnership with the Lagos State Government, it offers free, practical short courses covering every aspect of filmmaking and media production. 

EbonyLife’s success has earned a place in Harvard Business School’s MBA curriculum as a case study, putting Abudu alongside CEOs such as Warren Buffett and Elon Musk. Forbes has described her as “Africa’s Most Successful Woman,” and CNN has called her “Africa’s Queen of Media who conquered the continent.” The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited her to join the producer membership category, making her the first sub-Saharan African woman to join the Oscars Academy.

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A Home for Black and African Culture in London 

Abudu opened the first EbonyLife Place in Lagos in 2019. The luxury lifestyle and entertainment resort featured a five-screen cinema with 438 seats, and a VIP room for private screenings. The cinema is coupled with The White Orchid Hotel, a 19-room boutique hotel, a VR gaming experience, and dining and lounge areas like the Jasmine Room. Together, they offer a new way to experience authentic African design, art, and luxury. 

This year, she carried that mission to London. The multi-story cultural center is dedicated to showcasing African cinema, food, art, and culture. Its 160-seat Amani Auditorium is open year-round and champions Nollywood cinema alongside other films from Africa and the diaspora. “We make great films, and I think we need to create experiences where people can come, and they can see the great work that we do in Black cinema, in African cinema,” Abudu said. 

Beyond the Big Screen

The venue also aims to be a hub for established and emerging talent through masterclasses, industry panels and live performances. It includes The Afrobear restaurant serving Nigerian food, a lounge called Fàhinti, which means “to lean back and rest” in Yoruba, and the Maji Concession & Bar. Visitors can also browse the Zuri Retail Boutique, which features garments from Nigerian, African, and diaspora designers. Every detail, down to the art on the walls, tells a story of African creativity and talent. 

“We have consumed so much of the world. How much of the world has consumed us? And 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 and so forth. It’s right here in London,” Abudu added.

Across a long career in media, Abudu has carried African storytelling to the world’s biggest screens. With EbonyLife Place London, she has built the infrastructure for residents of London to sit back, relax and immerse themselves in African storytelling, food and culture.