--- description: Find out why Mo Abudu is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: Mo Abudu: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0dac755ff29a3ca/6998c5c247fe51f02c55b9bc/time100-2025-mo-abudu.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # Mo Abudu ## Video: TIME100 2025 | See Every Honoree [Watch (HLS stream): TIME100 2025 | See Every Honoree](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6HpL33vZ.m3u8) (3:55)  _Published 2025-04-16. See every 2025 TIME100 honoree._ by Idris Elba  TORONTO, ONTARIO - SEPTEMBER 11: Mo Abudu of "The King's Horseman" poses in the Getty Images Portrait Studio Presented by IMDb and IMDbPro at Bisha Hotel & Residences on September 11, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Contour by Getty Images) TORONTO, ONTARIO - SEPTEMBER 11: Mo Abudu of "The King's Horseman" poses in the Getty Images Portrait Studio Presented by IMDb and IMDbPro at Bisha Hotel & Residences on September 11, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Contour by Getty Images)Gareth Cattermole—Contour by Getty Images Mo Abudu’s reputation precedes her. Anyone who has worked on anything relating to African film knows her. I had been an admirer of her work for some time before I reached out to her two years ago to connect. Pretty quickly we were hatching a plan to collaborate on a film, which became _Dust to Dreams._ That’s the thing about Mo: she wastes no time. She has an infectious, can-do attitude and the tenacity to overcome any obstacle in her way. Her sprawling empire—from studios and productions to cinemas and a creative academy—is testament to that. Mo, who launched the $50 million [Afro Film Fund](https://variety.com/2023/film/global/idris-elba-mo-abudu-africa-talent-diaspora-1235555326/ "undefined") last year, cares deeply about the African narrative, and how the continent and its people are portrayed onscreen. Anyone who wants to understand the filmmaking landscape in Africa—or anywhere else—could learn a lot from Mo, because she gets things done. _Elba is an Emmy-nominated actor_ Mo Abudu Is on the 2025 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273800/mo-abudu/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273800/mo-abudu/"},"headline":"Mo Abudu","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:46:15.824Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273800/mo-abudu/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","T100Leaders2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0dac755ff29a3ca/6998c5c247fe51f02c55b9bc/time100-2025-mo-abudu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0dac755ff29a3ca/6998c5c247fe51f02c55b9bc/time100-2025-mo-abudu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273800/mo-abudu/","name":"Mo Abudu"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 2025 | See Every Honoree","description":"See every 2025 TIME100 honoree.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/6HpL33vZ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-04-16T10:30:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6HpL33vZ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273800/mo-abudu/","duration":"PT3M55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273800/mo-abudu/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```