Rwandans and friends of Rwanda are Thursday, July 4, celebrating 30 years of liberation, a day when Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) set the country and its people free after stopping the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The country has over the past 30 years enjoyed a remarkable transformation and growth in various sectors and the creative industry, a once regarded route for hopeless and uneducated people, is no exception.

There is no doubt that the creative industry has gone from nothing to something, demonstrating significant growth and generating huge revenues to its players who are also proudly part of the country's development journey.

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According to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the cultural and creative industries employed over 30 million people worldwide and generated a record of $ 624 billion in 2015. The creative industry covers a broad set of companies and media types uniting everyone from technicians, management professionals, artists and designers.

In Rwanda, different disciplines comprising the creative sector such as fashion, filmmaking, and visual arts were nowhere to be seen or epitomized in 1994 but, today, the whole industry is regarded as a gold field worth mining attracting refined investors.

Established music producer, Clement Ishimwe owns Kina Music, a record label that managed some of the biggest Rwandan musicians who rose to stardom early in the 2010s. He regarded as one of the captains of the industry who played a pivotal role in transforming Rwanda’s music industry into a lucrative field.

In his recent interview with The New Times, the music investor said that the evolution of Rwanda’s creative sector over the last 30 years has been commendable.

Ishimwe has managed the likes of Dream Boys, Knowles Butera, his current wife, Christopher, Tom Close, and even the new big names in town including Nel Ngabo and Igor Mabano among others.

In his perspective, the biggest achievement for the music industry was coming from playing foreign music on a scale of 90 per cent on radio and TV stations, clubs, bars and other public places, to now seeing local music dominate the power play at more than 80 per cent.⁠

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” Before, 94 percent of musicians were obliged to do other work to sustain their lives because music wasn’t considered as a profession, but now we have so many examples of professional musicians making a living off of their music,” Ishimwe said, lauding the progress of the music industry over the last 30 years.

Other key highlights of Rwanda’s remarkable progress in the creative space include infrastructure development besides government’s support and partnership which have boosted the state of the industry’s business, according to Jean-Paul Nduwimana, alias Noopja, a renowned music investor in Rwanda.

Noopja believes the past three decades have seen a significant improvement in infrastructure supporting the music industry, from the proliferation of high-speed internet connectivity to the establishment of world-class concert halls like the state-of-the-art BK Arena, Amahoro Stadium, Intare Conference Arena and Kigali Conference and Exhibition (KCEV), formerly Camp Kigali, among others.

"Recognizing the cultural significance of music, the Rwandan government has emerged as a crucial ally to artists, offering support and fostering collaborations that have elevated the industry to new heights.

The high level of understanding between the government and artists has paved the way for innovative projects and initiatives that celebrate Rwanda&039;s rich musical heritage. The likes of TRACE Awards and many other initiatives came to life because of this trust,” he said.

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Noopja further hailed the establishment of Nyundo Music School which discovered some of the biggest talents that are shaping Rwanda’s music industry. Ariel Wayz, Igor Mabano and Symphony Band, Okkama, Kenny Sol and producers Kiiiz and Kozze are few examples of artistes who joined the game after graduating from the school.

The establishment of music school, he emphasized, stands as a testament to Rwanda's commitment in nurturing musical talent and fostering a culture of excellence in music education.

"The school has become a breeding ground for the next generation of Rwandan musicians, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to excel in the industry,” he noted.

Filmmaking on the rise

Rwanda is undoubtedly witnessing a thriving art scene and, with the growing film industry, the local entertainment sector has emerged as a powerful tool for storytelling.

According to award winning filmmaker Eric Kabera, the film industry in Rwanda has come of age and it is overwhelming that it is producing many talents, from cinematographers, photographers and actors, to story tellers and editors to name a few.

"Many of the young men and women whom we partly inspired are busy and the most talented ones are making good money. At times, you can’t even afford them when you need them for a small gig, which is a very good sign,” Kabera told The New Times.

Kabera recalls the old days of producing 100 Days, a movie about the events of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tusti, which challenged him to make over how the industry was lacking almost every necessity tool to produce a film.

This, he said, pushed him to create Kwetu Film Institute, which stands until today as the leading center for the young Rwandan creatives who wish to cut their teeth into the challenging business.

Unlike in the early 2000s, Kabera says that he doesn’t need to go to Nairobi or call a director from Cape Town anymore to help him produce films even though collaboration is still a need in this industry.

"When I spoke of the Rwandan film industry being born about 20 years ago with Hollywood, few believed that we would be seeing Rwanda being captured the way that it is today. Rwanda is an incredible landscape of beauty on screen but we need stories attached to it,” he said.

Kabera believes that Rwanda is yet to present a new glowing spirit on screen which is what he has been working on for the past 12 years.

Performing arts

Performing arts have also become a new business to fetch from on top of telling the story of Rwandan resilience the creative way.

"It fills me with joy to see that art has now joined the conversations on the table and we keep hoping for the best,” Hope Azeda, the brains behind annual and Ubumuntu Arts festival, told The New Times.

Hope Azeda is the face of performing arts in Rwanda and has over the past two decades and raised a number of artists of national and international standards in different sectors through her Mashirika Performing Arts and Media Company.

The likes of Malaika Uwamahoro, a household name in Rwandan poetry and spoken word, and Arthur Nkusi, Rwanda’s comedy atheist, presenter and MC Anita Pendo, musician Peace Jolis and actress Eliane Umuhire are on the long list of artistes who grew through the ranks of Mashirika.

For Azeda, the past 30 years shaped Rwanda’s performing arts and introduced it into the international arena, something that was almost impossible before 1994.

She believes that art is a language of humans and it can be a major uniting factor transcending borders, regions and continents.

"We live in a world where our differences have divided us. More than ever more now, we need art that uplifts and unifies. It’s not about any of us but about us," she said .

Other different disciplines of the creative industry including visual arts and photography have also made significant strides over the years and generated millions of Rwandan francs but still have a long way to go.

The global music market recorded revenues worth $28.6 billion in 2023, a 10.2 per cent growth year-on-year. Despite Africa registering the fastest growth at a pace of 24.7 per cent, it still accounts for a tiny portion of the market, according to the International Federation of Phonographic Institute (IFPI).

In Rwanda, only Rwf55 million was generated and distributed from royalties between 2019 and 2022, according to the Rwanda Society of Authors (RSAU), which manages the collection of royalties in the country.

It is also believed that, if well regulated and empowered, the creative industry can contribute a big sum to the country's GDP in the next 50 years.