Going international The two Burkina Faso entrepreneurs are facing a great challenge. Their e-shop is up and running and their new collections
Afrique Créative is an incubation programme designed to structure the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in Africa. By supporting and strengthening the capacities of selected entrepreneurs, Afrique Créative aims to support sustainable growth that will bring change.
Going international The two Burkina Faso entrepreneurs are facing a great challenge. Their e-shop is up and running and their new collections
Zoom on the e-learning Creative entrepreneurs, who had always paid more attention to their predilection field (including visual arts, fashion, or 3D
During the first session, Marc Bénaïche shared with the Afrique Créative cohort his experience as a cultural entrepreneur, focusing on the human
This program, financed by AFD and implemented by a consortium led by Africalia, aims to enhance the cultural and creative ecosystem by
Cultural companies: agents of inclusiveness The Senegalese entrepreneurs, both Fatoumata and Safouane Pindra (Optimiste Produktions) and Angèle Diabang (Karoninka), are committed to
Transmit a legacy to future generations Langages du Sud and Crossroads Digital Multimedia promote Morocco’s and Uganda’s rich historical, artistic, and socio-cultural
Their eco-friendly creative process Regarding Langages du Sud, it’s important to notice that its books are edited on papers sourced from sustainable
Ready… : entrepreneurs on starting blocks. The Burkinabe entrepreneurs have both finalized redesigning their visual identities to match the high-end products they
This programme aims to promote the structuring of the cultural and creative ecosystem by boosting the development, the skill sets and the networking of companies active in this sector. Afrique Créative addresses operators combining both creativity and entrepreneurship in order to maximize their potential in terms of job creation and economic growth.
As an industrial sector still largely untapped in Africa, the cultural and creative field occurs as an important economic lever. Cultural and creative industries are vectors of social innovation and generate impact within their communities. Because its resources are non-polluting and inexhaustible, this sector represents an opportunity to build a fairer and more sustainable world!
Afrique Créative is financed by the French Development Agency (AFD)…
The AFD group finances, accompanies and accelerates transitions towards a fairer and more sustainable world. Climate, biodiversity, peace, education, culture, employment… : the teams are involved in over 4000 projects in Overseas France and 110 countries. By doing so, the AFD contributes to the commitment of France and the French people to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
…and implemented by an international consortium led by Africalia :
Africalia has been teaming up with artists and organisations working in a wide range of contemporary disciplines. Its mission is to support, collaborate with, structure and build networks of artists in order to put culture and creativity at the centre of economical innovation and social transformation in Africa. Besides, Africalia also mobilises the Belgian cultural sector so as to draw the attention of its audiences to African creativity.
Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is an impact investing group focusing exclusively on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the African continent. I&P combines four pan-African funds representing 125 million euros, and has supported more than 90 SMEs based in 16 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Zhu Culture, a cultural engineering consultancy based in Senegal, has more than 20 years of experience and knowledge of the CCI sector. Zhu Culture supports several artists and is regularly approached by creative organisations in French- and English-speaking countries in Africa.
Bayimba Foundation is a cultural production organisation based in Uganda. Bayimba has a very extensive network in the local creative sector and has hosted creative initiatives (including festivals, workshops, individual artists and creative collectives) for over a decade.
Other partners: Jokkolabs, Design Hub Kampala, CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers).
Country of intervention
Cultural enterprises
Incubation month
Experts and mentors
thousand euros of scholarship
Objective of the Afrique Créative programme: To support the development of the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in order to maximise their social and economic impact.
Objective of the call: To identify eight CCI entrepreneurs to take part in the Afrique Créative programme
Programme length: 16 months (September 2019 to December 2020)
The following will be provided:
Target group: Cultural and creative organisations
Target countries: Burkina Faso, Morocco, Senegal and Uganda
Number of selected entrepreneurs: Two per country
Application deadline : August 15th 2019 (included – before 11.59 pm)
The candidate selection procedure was as follows:
To be eligible, candidates must:
be a cultural and/or creative organisation
be a private legal entity (company or non-profit organisation)
be based in one of the following four countries: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Morocco or Uganda
have existed for at least two years
be legally registered with the competent national authorities and have legal status as well as a governance body (board of directors, management committee, etc.)
fill in the application form and provide all the requested documents in French or English (see below)
The following are not eligible:
Individual applications
Public or semi-public organisations (state-owned enterprises, government agencies, public-sector schools, etc.).
The selection criteria that was used to analyze and record applications was:
Our vision focuses on individuals and their ability to harness their creativity to drive change. The CCIs can provide substantial economic leverage, and are an embryonic sector in sub-Saharan Africa. The sector mainly consists of small or medium-sized organisations with a significant effect on local development.
In addition, work in the cultural and creative sector can be particularly attractive to women and young people, whose employment is a priority in Africa. Sustainable, non-polluting and unlimited in its resources, the creative field is one of the preferred routes to achieve the economic and ecological diversification that modern and globalised economies so urgently need.
It is for these reasons that Afrique Créative takes the approach of supporting cultural and creative entrepreneurship by offering training, guidance and networking opportunities to CCI organisations.
Our mission is to identify cultural and creative entrepreneurs with high potential and to support, strengthen and network them in order to accelerate the development of their organizations.
The programme will include:
Afrique Créative offers an intensive incubation programme for cultural and creative entrepreneurs, who will be selected according to the call for applications.
This programme combines different methods and support tools:
Each entrepreneur selected as part of Creative Africa will benefit from a grant, ranging from 75,000 to 125,000 euros, depending on the needs of his/her organization.
The objectives of this scholarship are to :
The principles related to the use of this funding are:
The estimated timetable of Afrique Créative is as follows :