Mali has launched its own television comedy series called Taxi Tigui, which tells the story of everyone who hails a ride in a battered old cab called F-One.
With the actors speaking Bambara, it’s already a hit with the locals and hopes to boost home grown comedies across West Africa.
Each three-minute episode marks a significant change from the country’s usual television diet of dubbed South American soaps, using comedy to delve more deeply into the national essence.
While it is difficult to judge the penetration of the series in a country that does not record audience figures, public reaction has seemed positive.
F-One says his taxi is “the fastest in Mali”, despite surviving bombings in Iraq, war in Afghanistan and an unlikely earthquake in central Paris that killed everyone in the vicinity.
“Taxi Tigui” was entirely financed through local sources.
