The Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND) 2024, a pan-African gathering of creatives and cultural experts curated by the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), is underway in Algeria. It is bringing together figures from the worlds of visual art, music, cinema, film, fashion, and gastronomy to discuss how to support the continent’s creative and cultural industries. Afreximbank announced during CANEX WKND that it has increased the funding allocated to the creative industry to $1 billion from the $500 million announced in 2022. The bank said the decision reflects the growing demand for financing in the industry. Currently, Afreximbank revealed that it has a robust pipeline of creative deals of over $600 million in investments spanning film, music, visual arts, fashion, and sports. The bank has already supported production of a feature film, a catalog of music, and construction of a stadium. The move to support the creative sector by multilateral financing institutions such as Afreximbank says a lot about the potential the industry has. The bank sees the creative space perhaps as a lucrative sector from which it can make money. These investments should inspire other financing institutions, development organisations, governments, and the private sector, which already plays a key role, to look at the creative sector as critical towards transforming economic growth and development. Rwanda’s State Minister for Youth and Arts, Sandrine Umutoni, laid a plan for the country to support the creative sector, saying the government is currently prioritising four areas to boost investments and cultural development, including capacity-building, infrastructure, funding, and collaboration. Umutoni hinted on the government’s plan to introduce funds that finance the creative work of young people, women, and the creative industry in general. This is a welcome move, but time is against us. We must deliberately fast-track the pace at which we invest in financing the creatives. The creative sector has potential to create millions of jobs, harness innovation, promote brand reputation, change narratives, as well as position Africa at the global stage, in addition to drive the continent’s economic growth and development. The United Nations estimates the cultural and creative industries account for 3.1% of global GDP and 6.2% of employment worldwide.
