Author: Yinka Akintunde Fagbile
Cite as:
Fagbile, Y. A. (2025). Engendering innovation in cultural and the creative industries in Africa. Journal of Creative Industries and Cultural Studies – JOCIS, 13, 79-97.
Abstract
Conversations around the creative industries in Africa surround its cultural impact roles, preservation of cultural heritage, and influence on the global creative economy. There has been far less attention on innovation and wealth creation skills, economic contributions of creative ventures, and the place of educational institutions as agencies for training and nurturing creative entrepreneurs. The creative industry is perceived as a goldmine and Africans in recent times have intensified high levels of participation in its various forms reflected in film and television, theatre, music, visual arts, radio, digital content creations, and other multimedia productions. Despite these efforts, there are limitations to creative industries that impede innovation and economic growth. Similarly, there are opportunities African countries can leverage to evolve sustainable creative industries capable of lifting their people out of poverty and deprivation. Some of these opportunities remain untapped. This paper, therefore, examines the concept of innovation and entrepreneurship in the creative industries of Africa and its potential for poverty eradication and economic empowerment of the region and its citizens. Through qualitative methods and case studies of successful creative entrepreneurs, the paper explores the nexus between creativity and innovation, the creative economy in Africa, and the strategies for engendering entrepreneurship, reducing poverty, and bringing about improved quality of life through creative industries. I argue that creative entrepreneurial skills can drive innovation and create wealth but the lack of access to resources providing entrepreneurship knowledge impedes innovation and creative economic development in Africa. The paper concludes by prioritizing a public-private partnership approach to empower Africa’s creative economy and recommends fine-tuning curricula in educational institutions to promote entrepreneurship education in addition to the need for cultural policy strategies to support the creative industries. The paper contributes to discussions on the Millennium Development Goal’s objective of poverty eradication through the lenses of creativity and innovation in the creative industries in Africa.
Keywords
Africa, creative industry, culture, development, entrepreneurship, innovation
access full article