Africa’s creative economy is already producing work that travels. What it still lacks is the ownership, financing, and policy architecture to keep that value on the continent.
The issue is not a lack of talent. The work now is to strengthen the commercial architecture around that talent.
The core idea
Creative industries generate jobs, businesses, exports, digital work, audience growth and cultural value. Globally, cultural and creative industries generate more than US$2.25 trillion annually. Across Africa, the opportunity is growing through streaming, mobile connectivity, live experiences and youth-led enterprise.
Hidden in plain sight
Too often the sector is treated as decoration for other economic plans. Creative Futures Africa starts from a different premise: creativity is infrastructure. It needs investment conversations, clearer monetisation pathways, and connected ecosystems.
Culture is not waiting. Capital and policy have to move at the same speed as the work already being made.
What comes next
The 2026 Summit in Johannesburg continues the work begun in 2025: bringing creators, investors, institutions and policymakers into the same room, and leaving with an agenda the continent can act on.