The global creative economy is set to hit $983 billion in 2023.
If you’ve been paying attention to the growth of Afrobeats you’ll understand why global record labels have been scrambling to get in on the action. It also explains why Nigeria’s Minister of Culture and Information described the creative industry as the ‘new oil’ back in 2017. After a pandemic induced hiatus, more than 150,000 Millenial and Gen Z tourists from the Americas, UK, Nigeria, Germany, China, Netherlands and others flocked to Ghana’s capital Accra last month. The flights and accommodation alone would have set each traveller back thousands of dollars. The main attraction was a series of events organized over several days around fashion, music, art and food. This is where Diaspora Dollars are on full display.
It’s a hopeful sign that the cultural festival experience is back, with Afrobeats as the soundtrack. It’s no coincidence that the annual gathering has grown in popularity as the demand for African music around the world has increased. Collaborations between artists like Wizkid, Burna Boy and Tems with international music producers and superstars like Beyonce, Drake and Justin Beiber rack up millions of audio and video streams. This has propelled growth that Goldman Sachs expects to double music industry revenues to $131 billion by 2030. This is just one example of the commercial success possible in the creative industry which is set to represent ten percent of global GDP in the next few years, according to G20 Insights.
With US$2,250b revenues in 2013 and 29.5m jobs, the creative economy appears to be a powerful development tool in general. More specifically, it gives an idea of the sector’s potential to offer economic opportunities to women. In many countries, creative industries tend to favor the participation of women compared with more traditional industries. Statistics compiled by the UK Government showed that women accounted for more than 50% of people employed in the music industry in 2014 vs. 47% only in the whole active population.
– 2015 UNESCO report | Cultural Times
Ghana is betting big on Diaspora Dollars and it’s easy to understand why. The Year Of Return in 2019 encouraged the international community to commemorate 400 years since the arrival of the first recorded enslaved Africans in the US state of Virginia by visiting Ghana. A 12-month series of events gave Ghana’s economy a $3.1 billion boost. The West African nation has now launched a ten year plan to engage visitors from across the diaspora known as Beyond The Return. Parties like PinexGinja organized by Lakeshia Ford, a US-Jamaican entrepreneur based in Accra, are part of the Government’s official roster. Other popular events include Afrochella which has been organizing immersion trips to promote networking within the Ghanaian community and diaspora since 2015.
Important issues include women’s access to participation in the cultural and economic life of their society, access to credit and investment capital for their projects, and access to property rights. These issues exist within a more generalized set of difficulties that creators face when attempting to secure equitable remuneration for their work: respect for their moral rights, contract negotiation under conditions of extreme power asymmetries, securing financial backing for creative projects, and the general precariousness of labor contracts in many sectors of the CCI. For the vast majority of women creators, these difficulties are amplified as they intersect with the realities that women face when attempting to gain access to economic participation.
– 2015 UNESCO report | Cultural Times
Jamaica is preparing for a return of its own as it marks 60 years of independence in 2022. The country has lost out on an estimated $2 billion in revenues as the pandemic shuttered most major festivals and live events including; Champs, Sumfest, Unruly Fest, Xaymaca, and Bacchanal. Events like these keep the Diaspora Dollars flowing and thousands of people employed as millions of visitors are attracted to the packed annual calendar of activities. 2019 saw a record 4.3 million people visit the Caribbean island. With or without live events, Jamaica relies heavily on the diaspora for financial support, remittances account for 21 percent of GDP and major infrastructure projects are funded with Foreign Direct Investment from Jamaicans abroad.
That’s why countries like Ghana and Jamaica are doubling down on the creative economy with much of the focus concentrated on encouraging people to visit live marquee events. The appeal is greater than the sun, sand and sea proposition that typically attracts tourists to these shores. Visitors are now just as likely to be groups of friends as they are couples or families. They are younger, have disposable income and they’re searching for a cultural immersion.
The greatest example of sustainable creative economy success can be found in the music industry. While film, art, food and fashion have their place it is music that consistently delivers great returns by encouraging people to go to great lengths to support their favorite artists. The 2013 Nashville Music Industry Report highlights the creation of 56,000 jobs, contributing US$5.5billion to the Nashville economy. UK Music estimated that in 2013 music directly contributed over US$5 billion to the UK economy and employed 111,000 people. Creative sectors are crucial to youth employment and careers. In Europe, these industries typically employed more people aged 15-29 years than any other sector. Creative industries also tend to favor the participation of women compared with more traditional industries.
This global market supporting local businesses has gone unnoticed for generations. Many immigrants are accustomed to carrying an overweight suitcase packed with raw supplies on the way home only to be replaced with culturally relevant goods and services for the trip back. Now, digital technology has transformed the landscape making it possible for entrepreneurs and small businesses to engage customers beyond that annual visit. There have been major gains over the past decade with large technology companies facilitating communication and cross-border payments. Still, savvy investors would do well to recognize the value of a narrow focus on the diaspora dollar.
Kelly Silvera is CEO of Fawma, an AI firm working to connect entrepreneurs with markets and networks. She writes on issues of reparative justice and tech. Kelly advocates for opportunities through entrepreneurship.
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Featured image credit: Rahul Pandit