During a challenging year, Katanimate Animation Studio experienced remarkable growth, expanding from four to twenty employees thanks to the COVID Relief Programme by the industry association Animation SA and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). As Nick Cloete, Head of Policy at Animation SA, explains, this programme was crucial for boosting small animation studios’ productivity by subsidising labour costs, allowing businesses to survive and thrive during the pandemic.
The programme aimed to support small animation studios and unemployed young professionals by matching them for mutual benefit. Katanimate’s success story began when the program helped place young professionals in the studio, boosting production capacity and allowing for the development of new intellectual property. Victoria Kathleen Gillam from GIZ notes that the programme’s success in South Africa is a potential model for other countries to replicate, demonstrating how targeted interventions can benefit businesses and professionals.
The pandemic hit smaller animation studios hard, with budget cuts and lost opportunities for recent graduates. However, the relief programme stepped in, helping 23 animation companies like Katanimate recruit 59 skilled workers. Angelika Frei-Oldenburg, Senior Advisor at GIZ, emphasised the importance of such support, noting that empowering industry associations like Animation SA was vital to recovering and driving sector-wide growth.
These professionals gained valuable experience through on-the-job training, while the studios, including Katanimate, increased productivity. Today, two of Katanimate’s former junior employees hold team lead positions, and the studio has developed its own content, securing a more stable future.
The programme’s success showcases the potential for animation to drive job creation and economic growth. With continued collaboration between the private sector and government, the future of South Africa’s animation industry looks promising.
Katanimate’s story demonstrates the power of targeted support during a crisis.
Read the full case study by GIZ here:
