Panellists explored ways to change the current narrative against the background of statistics from Unesco, which are showing that African creatives make up only 1,1% of regional GDP, lagging severely behind the rest of the world when viewed in monetary and job terms.
 
According to the Global Creative Economy, it generates revenues of USD$2.25-trillion annually, sustaining close to 30 million jobs worldwide.

When measured together with the Middle East in Unesco's report, the region only generates USD$58-billion in revenue, sustaining 2,4 million jobs — making it clear that Africa is sitting on creative capital but is struggling to unlock its monetary benefits.
 
The Build the Future event within Advertising Week Africa was convened by snakenation.io, a technopreneurial, next-gen mobile media network for creative multicultural Millennials that helps diverse creators build their audience, create value for their work and monetise it via crypto.

At this session, a number of African creative thought leaders explored the intersection of the rise of the creative economy, emerging fintech stakeholders and how these technologies impact creators' lives and their creative freedom.
 
"The Creative Economy touches every part of the value chain: from economics, technology, society and culture to politics and environment. Creatives don't just make fun stuff, we're part of the entire economy," says Karl Carter, founder and CEO of Snake Nation and convenor of the Snake Nation track 'The Global Economy + African Diaspora Youth: Building the Future we Want to Live In'.
 
Among the thought leaders invited to explore the subject were Senisha Moonsammy, head of department TIA (Technology Innovation Agency) who also heads up the United Nations Industrial Development Programme focusing on The Green Economy. 

"How do we move from aid to trade and commercialise the creative economy?" Carter asks, urging the continent's creatives to begin unlocking the commercial aspects around their content. "For me, it's about products and services, and we need to ask ourselves how we can commercialise those."
 
"For many years resources have been sucked out of Africa to make the rest of the world better, and we have not really benefited from that. The perception of Africa today is completely different, it is our music, film, tv and art that is changing perceptions of Africa," adds Colin C, founder of Africa Creative Agency (ACA).

Carter says, "If you change that perception, investment and jobs will come. It is important that we do not allow this to become another extraction of resources, but rather that we bring the world to Africa on our terms."
 
Stephen A. Newton, founder Illuminate Africa Group urged the continent to look beyond the traditional employment paradigm.

Newton adds, "Not everyone can be a doctor … and that's okay! There is a lot of opportunity for creativity and African talent is a resource, why are we not monetising our vast resource?"
 
Tumelo Moema, founder of Hayani Creative Management was equally excited by the size and scope of the African opportunity.
 
In exploring the opportunities around AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area), the free trade area encompassing most of Africa that are the largest in terms of member-states behind the WTO (World Trade Organisation) and spans 1.3-billion people across the world's second-largest continent.

Carter and the panellists explored the numerous opportunities inherent in opening up the continent to creatives where another billion new consumers are in our located right in their own backyards on the continent.
 
To view the full panel discussion individuals can click here. 

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