The just-concluded Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) held in Durban, South Africa, ended with deals worth over $36 billion, according to AFREXIM Bank.
There were a series of activities at the fair that focused on the African creative economy as part of Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), an initiative of the African Export鈥揑mport Bank (Afreximbank) to support Creative Economy growth on the continent.
CANEX activities at the fair included film policy workshops with film commissioners and policy makers from around the continent; CANEX Live, and the CANEX Summit featuring a series of expert-led discussions, fireside chats, and creative showcases, all aimed at giving an opportunity to show how the creative industry in Africa can contribute to economic growth.
CANEX comes at a good time for the creative industry in Africa. Over the last few years, African music has been gaining global appeal, with West African 鈥楢frobeats鈥� and Southern Africa 鈥楢mapiano鈥� being at the forefront of this.
Songs by Nigerian artists Wizkid Ft. Tems and Ckay have topped global Shazam searches and charts in the last few months. At the same time, the number of is unprecedented.听 听听
African fashion - propelled by a generation of innovative designers, local and diaspora markets, new support platforms and fashion weeks in Dakar, Kampala, Addis Ababa, no less impactful than their better-known contemporaries in Lagos and South Africa - is increasingly reaching new markets and gracing global catwalks.
Through a partnership with Afreximbank, in October 2021.听听
Film has not been left behind. Beyond Nollywood and the South African movies, films from Kenya, Uganda, Namibia, and other countries are also gaining regional and global recognition. The film industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, with the emergence of institutions and projects led by filmmakers like focusing on telling stories about Congolese history through film.
Creators such as musicians, comedians, designers, and others that leverage social media platforms to reach audiences directly and monetise the access are an important part of this industry.
For example, 听, the Cameroonian fashion entrepreneur has leveraged her 2.6 million Instagram followers to build multiple fashion and beauty businesses. 听From , the Ivorian digital activist and TV personality, to , a Moroccan singer-songwriter that used his social media to contribute to the mainstreaming of Moroccan pop, African creatives are now using social media and digital technology to reach new audiences, create new businesses and advocate around issues that are important to them and their communities.
Across all the creative sectors, Africans are actively leveraging the existing opportunities already on the continent to create new opportunities in 鈥楥reatech鈥� and leapfrogging some of the barriers affecting their markets.
Some of these companies were present at CANEX. These included , a Virtual Reality production company headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, that creates content using this kind of technology for sectors as diverse as education, tourism, and health. The co-founder, , was on one of the CANEX panels on and spoke about his company鈥檚 focus on not just making content but also on strengthening the ecosystem for Virtual Reality in Kenya and around the continent.
On the same panel alongside 鈥� the acting director, Strategy and Innovation at Afreximbank; 鈥� the group director, Corporate Communication at UBA PLC; 听and this writer - 鈥� the managing partner, Creative Economy Practice at CC Hub (Nigeria).
The panel was moderated by , who is leading an innovative company 鈥� African Digital Heritage which is leveraging technology to stimulate digital archiving of African heritage.
In addition to digital disruption, the discussions in CANEX including the importance of cultural festivals in the creative industries of Africa, monetising visual arts content, talent management, representation and branding among, other topics.
Overall, while there were issues highlighted in terms of gaps in talent, infrastructure, regulation and other areas, there was a sense of purpose and hope, that with emerging new companies like the which aims to stimulate more innovation and technology application in Africa鈥檚 creative industry, that is financing creative industry businesses in East Africa and the which will offer much needed access to capital, the creative economy in Africa has never been at a better place. Besides improving their economic welfare, it is an unprecedented opportunity for Africans to tell their own stories and promote their own narratives.
Ms. Ojoma Ochai is Managing Partner of The Creative Economy Practice at CC Hub in Nigeria.
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