Lincoln Green Media Founder Selected for Growth Program
Entrepreneur Kudakwashe Maradzika joined the Creation Africa program following the success of the Netflix series Bad Influencer.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Marketing
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Kudakwashe Maradzika, founder of intellectual property studio Lincoln Green Media, was selected as one of 15 finalists for the second edition of the Creation Africa entrepreneur development program. The selection follows the global performance of the series Bad Influencer, which Maradzika helped develop.
Why it matters
Selection for the program provides a development pathway for Lincoln Green Media as it seeks to scale its intellectual property across comic books, animation, and live-action formats. The firm aims to establish a global production division and release flagship IP within five years.
The Creation Africa program selected 15 entrepreneurs from a total of 340 applicants. This follows the commercial success of the series Bad Influencer, which drew four million views during the week of November 3-9, 2025, and reached number three on Netflix's Global Top 10 list.
The players
Kudakwashe Maradzika
Founder of Lincoln Green Media and developer of the Netflix series Bad Influencer.
Lincoln Green Media
An intellectual property studio that develops stories across comic books, animation, and live-action formats.
Netflix
A global subscription streaming service and production company that distributes original and licensed episodic content.
Creation Africa
An entrepreneur development program that supports media and creative startups in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi.
The details
Lincoln Green Media operates as an intellectual property studio, currently focused on multi-platform storytelling and adapting existing assets for international markets. Maradzika is currently working on an animation adaptation of the comic Beasts of Tazeti with a South Korea-based partner. The studio utilizes development pipelines like the Realness Institute and Netflix Episodic Lab to refine narrative assets before international distribution.
Timeline
Lincoln Green Media was founded in 2022.
The series Bad Influencer premiered in October 2025.
Bad Influencer generated four million views between November 3 and November 9, 2025.
Creation Africa announced its entrepreneur selection on September 30, 2026.
Market Landscape
The Netflix Episodic Lab serves as a documented model for how streaming platforms cultivate and scale regional intellectual property for global distribution. Maradzika’s selection for Creation Africa follows this pattern, leveraging successful series metrics to gain access to broader institutional development resources.
Studios should monitor how development programs like Creation Africa utilize performance data, such as streaming platform rankings, as a primary filter for selecting high-growth ventures. Entrepreneurs should track these institutional partnerships as key signals for emerging production hubs.
The takeaway
The rise of regional intellectual property studios demonstrates the value of integrating narrative development with international production partnerships. Operators should watch for regional startup cohorts as high-potential entry points for co-production or distribution deals.
Further reading
For more on industry content strategies, see our coverage in Marketing.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Daily Maverick.
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