The President of the African Import Export Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, has stated that Africa’s creative industry is a powerful instrument that could increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the countries of the continent and lift its youth from poverty.
Oramah stated this during the two-day Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), which was held physically and virtually at the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2021, in Durban, South Africa.
He stated that the creative industry possesses the power “to catalyse intra-African trade, create millions of jobs for the continent’s young population, and promote the emergence of national and regional value chains”.
Lauding the strength of creatives to propel industrial development, he noted that the Afreximbank instituted the CANEX programme to assist Africa’s creative and cultural industries in a way that would reform the continent’s untapped talents.
“The creative industry is a bankable market,” he said.
He assured that the Afreximbank would remain supportive of the creative economy.
South Africa’s Minister of Arts and Culture, Kosinathi Mthethwa, who performed the official launch, in his address stated that the CANEX programme marks an opportunity to release the best of Africa.
“The next gold for Africa is the cultural and creative economy,” Mthethwa said.
He added that Africa’s political agendas could be positively influenced by the rich tapestry of arts and culture.
“Central to cultural diplomacy is the notion of people-to-people relations and Africa can use ‘soft diplomacy’ by leveraging the arts to create these human connections.”
