Africa’s creative economy is currently valued at $60 billion, with projections suggesting it could reach $200 billion by 2030 if the right policies are put in place. That figure set the tone for discussions during one of the closing sessions at the recently concluded Africa Digital Innovation Forum (ADIF 2026) in Addis Ababa.
A panel on ‘Creative Industries and Job Creation’ brought together music entrepreneur Polycarp Otieno- the founder of Jawaya Guitars and also Sauti Sol founding band member; musician and producer Bolingo Passey; and IKOJN fashion brand founder Christine Njoki.
Joining them in conversation were cultural policy expert Prof. Kimani Njogu, and Marissa Henderson- the Chief of the Creative Economy Programme at UNCTAD for a candid examination of what it will take to turn the sector’s immense potential into sustainable livelihoods.
In 2023 alone, the creative industries employed an estimated 5 million people across the continent. Yet despite that scale, Africa contributes just 1% of creative goods exported worldwide, a gap that is seen as both a warning and an opportunity.
Much of the discussion centred on the difference between individual artistic success and a functioning industry.
Polycarp spoke to this from his experience setting up structures that work for the music sector, something he and the Sauti Sol have been deliberate about from the beginning of their careers. Having been among the first Kenyan acts to scale to that level, Sauti Sol recognised the structural gaps in the industry and responded by establishing Sol Generation, a publishing and record label venture designed to support the next generation of artists rather than simply build personal legacy.
Passey, reflecting on his own path as a younger artist, described the reality of juggling multiple roles at once—singer, songwriter, composer, instrumentalist and manager—often out of necessity given his limited access to resources. There is an upside, he noted, in that artists who wear every hat retain creative control over their work.
But the trade-off is exhausting, with most creatives starting out being forced to multitask across functions they are not equipped for.
With better structures and training, particularly on the business side of art, these artists would be more adequately prepared with the knowledge they require.
Prof. Njogu brought a policy lens shaped by years of advocacy and his role as the lead in Kenya’s Creative Economy Working Group (CEWG). He also recalled his role as co-chair of the consultative committee that helped embed and protect the creative industries within Kenya’s constitution, ensuring artistic freedom was safeguarded alongside scientific and academic freedom.
The underlying argument was that if people are regarded as the foundation of a nation, then culture must be treated as equally foundational, not peripheral.
This conviction has translated into sustained advocacy through CEWG, which has engaged parliament directly to shape policy affecting the sector, including the introduction of arts and culture into Kenya’s Competency-Based Curriculum.
Progress on policy is slow, Prof. Kimani acknowledged, but consistency matters. The working group’s current push is to fast-track the implementation of the creative economy bill in Kenya which will, among many things, secure investment in the creative economy as an immediate priority.
Prof. Kimani was direct about the scale required: investing less than 1% of GDP in the creative economy is simply not enough. Investment across the full creative sector value chain is imperative.
The need for trade barriers affecting creatives within Africa to be lifted through opening borders and reducing intra-African restrictions for artists would meaningfully improve the industry’s prospects. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will provide the necessary policy framework to help ensure that mobility is achieved across the continent.
The Guitar
Polycarp pointed to a manufacturing gap with a personally relevant example: the guitar. One of the most-played instruments in the world is not manufactured here in Africa, even though there are strong arguments that it originated from the continent. The wood used to build it traces back to Africa, yet the continent still lacks the infrastructure to manufacture instruments at scale and compete globally.
Polycarp’s own venture, Jawaya Guitars, was raised as a direct response to this challenge, building instruments from African raw materials on African soil.
Other sub-sectors face their own version of the same problem. Fashion creatives, for instance, struggle to compete against the second-hand clothing market (mitumba), where prices are simply impossible to match.
Musical gear, meanwhile, is in some cases taxed as luxury items, raising the barrier to entry for musicians just starting out.
Social media role
On a different register, panelists noted how central social media has become to an artist’s career, functioning as a kind of digital CV.
The caution offered alongside this was that virality should not be the creative’s goal. Maintaining authenticity matters more and lasts longer.
Taken together, the panel’s message was clear: build structures that allow artists to focus on their craft; train creatives to develop business capacity alongside creative skill; advocate for policy that treats culture as core infrastructure; and establish manufacturing systems that enable African creatives to capture more of the value they generate.
Every sub-sector is different and will require its own approach, but the panelists agreed that the creative economy is not adjacent to Africa’s development goals—it is one of the more direct paths to achieving them.
Mokua is a scientist and creative writer with Twaweza Communications.
