To drive innovation and the growth of the media space in Mexico, IFC is partnering with Lemon Studios, a leading film and television production studio in the country, to assess the establishment of the first intellectual property rights investment vehicle in Mexico and Latin America.
The intellectual property investment vehicle focuses on acquiring, managing, and commercializing intellectual property assets and royalties from movies and series. Lemon Studios is known for producing content for global platforms such as HBO, Netflix, Prime Video, VIX, and Apple TV.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), intellectual property rights can play a crucial role in supporting a thriving creative industry. A strong intellectual property ecosystem is vital to promoting innovation in Latin America, where the creative economy generates over $177 billion in annual revenues and supports more than 10 million jobs.
"This intellectual property rights investment vehicle has the potential to be a gamechanger for transforming the media landscape. Our collaboration with IFC will enable us to pioneer a new era of growth for creative sectors in Mexico, and by extension, the Latin America region," said Billy Rovzar, Founder and CEO, Lemon Studios.
"Mexico's audiovisual sector is witnessing growth, driven by technological advancements and a surge in demand for Spanish-language content. Given its profile as a leading production hub, this venture aims to introduce a new asset class to Mexico's capital markets, supporting growth, innovation and talent in the audio-visual sector," said Juan Gonzalo Flores, IFC´s Country Manager for México.
The video streaming industry attained a global valuation of $555.89 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $2.49 trillion by 2032, at an average growth rate of 18.7 percent. According to the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE), Mexico produced 234 films in 2023, with 56 percent of the funding coming from private sources. Despite its prospects, the industry faces infrastructure challenges, funding constraints and policy and regulatory risks.
The partnership marks IFC's first pre-investment engagement in Latin America's media sector, solidifying its commitment to fostering the region's creative industries. Through the project, IFC hopes to support new economic opportunities and jobs for women and youth. Further, the development of Mexico's audio-visual sector is also expected to boost equity, social inclusion, and sustainable tourism.
IFC has invested over $830 million in creative industries across emerging markets over the past 18 months and has pledged to scale up its commitments in this sector.
