A sign of the enthusiasm for creators from the African continent, Disney+ is coming to South Africa. Like Netflix, the streaming service is interested in local content. But support for the sector is still in its infancy. Several actors from the world of culture met on Wednesday May 18 in Paris to look into this issue.
To show the importance of culture for Africa, Lionel Zinsouformer Prime Minister of Benin, talks about the economic issues: “ The creative industries in Africa are one of the main industries, since when you make a lot of crafts which is very lively even if it is informal, when you make a lot of trades, dressmakers, seamstresses, great designers who are starting to have an international aura, you actually have thousands of jobs per country, so millions for the continent. »
However, the structures that allow creators to make a living from their art are lacking, regrets Valérie Ka, model and co-founder of the Share Africa association, which highlights the african stylists in France : ” Most young designers don’t necessarily know how to do marketing, how to sell, how to prepare a collection. Even if they know how to do it, they don’t necessarily have the means to create a collection. Indeed, I think it’s really important that our governments take this in hand to be able to support African creativity. »
One of the avenues for developing culture would be to favor public-private partnerships, according to the DRC’s ambassador, Ruth Isabelle Macik Tshome: ” There is private know-how, and also private know-how, so it is important that we not only be able to establish a public-private partnership, but also decentralize, because with 26 provinces, I believe that we can find a large number of niches to see this creative industry hatch. »
Known for the rumbathe DRC plans to create an artistic hub in Kinshasa, the capital, to develop its other talents.
In a 2021 report, Unesco estimated that African cinema could create 20 million jobs and generate $20 billion a year. And the African Union has understood this well. At a summit in 2020, heads of state mobilized to make culture a sustainable resource that benefits everyone.
“Culture is becoming predominant within the African Union. (…) There is an awareness. »
Mohamed Zoghlami, expert in digital creative industries in Africa