Africa Creatives Alliance Unveiled to Drive Socio-Economic Growth

In alignment with the African Union's Agenda 2063, "The Africa We Want," the Africa Creatives Alliance (ACA) is set to play a pivotal role in transforming Africa into a global powerhouse by tapping into the continent's vast cultural and creative potential. This innovative alliance will empower creative entrepreneurs to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s development and integration goals.

Launched in partnership with key organizations such as the African Union, UN-Habitat, MoTIV Africa, British Council, AfriLabs, and Save the Children, the ACA made its debut at the inaugural Africa Urban Forum (AUF) in Addis Ababa. This milestone event highlights the growing recognition of Africa's creative industries as essential drivers of socio-economic growth and continental unity.

The Africa Urban Forum, initiated by the African Union Commission and member states during the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee in Cairo in 2022, addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by Africa’s rapid urbanization. With a focus on urban development, the forum underscores the critical role of creative hubs, clusters, and incubators in fostering collaboration, innovation, and economic growth within Africa’s cities.

Africa’s creative economy, though underutilized, holds immense potential for driving GDP growth and employment. Globally, the cultural and creative sectors generate $2.3 billion annually and create nearly 30 million jobs, particularly benefiting youth. While Africa currently accounts for 9% of global media and culture employment, there is significant opportunity for growth. With targeted efforts, the continent can unlock its creative industries, driving youth employment and accelerating socio-economic transformation.

Rita Ngenzi, Founding Director of the Africa Creatives Alliance, emphasized the critical need for a coordinated effort to build robust Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) ecosystems across Africa. "While we have vibrant pockets of CCI networks and events across the continent, a unified, continent-wide ecosystem remains elusive. The ACA will bridge this gap by drawing on best practices from across Africa, facilitating knowledge transfer, and fostering the collaboration needed to advance Africa’s cultural and creative renaissance," said Ngenzi.

The launch of the ACA marks a significant step in harnessing the power of Africa's creative and cultural sectors for development and integration goals. In the process of harnessing the power of Africa’s creative and cultural industry for development and integration goals, it is important to understand what it means and to raise awareness of how cultural and creative industries can best be streamlined into various programs and policies. It must be done in a manner that ensures intrinsic development of the cultural and creative sectors, while also obtaining results in other sectors and development areas.

‘Building on our experiences with MOTIV and partnering with similar initiatives across the continent, the Africa Creative Alliance is a big bet coalition aimed at unlocking the vast potential of Africa’s creative economy. By 2050, one in four people will be African, making our continent a key growth market. With over 70% of the population relying on the informal economy and facing a massive job creation challenge, Africa’s future lies in its untapped human potential.’- CK Japheth Founder & Team Lead MoTIV Africa 

‘At AfriLabs, we believe in the power of collaboration and innovation to unlock the potential of Africa's creative industries. The Africa Creatives Alliance is a bold step towards creating a unified ecosystem that will empower creatives across the continent. By connecting hubs, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, we can ensure that Africa's creative talent thrives and contributes significantly to our continent's socio-economic development.’ - Anna Ekeledo Executive Director AfriLabs

The activation of creative economies should not be rocket science. However, it is complex due to several impediments where the perception of a divide between culture and economy creates a huge gap and constitutes the biggest blockage which is in people's minds. We need to know our elements, orchestrate them, apply them, and raise awareness. We must master collaboration to get there and liberate ourselves from siloed agendas. - Johanna Kouzmine-Karavaïeff Culture & Creative Industry expert, Founding Partner Artisans of Innovation.