NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 30 \u2013 NCBA Group has sponsored 10 Kenyan creators to undertake a new entrepreneurship programme designed to equip creatives with the business skills needed to build sustainable enterprises, as stakeholders seek to unlock the vast economic potential of Africa\u2019s creative industry.<\/p>\n
The sponsorship, offered through NCBA\u2019s Elev8 programme, supports the inaugural Creative Economy 101 cohort, an initiative launched by The Burns Brothers in partnership with Strathmore University Business School.<\/p>\n
The programme aims to bridge the gap between artistic talent and commercial success by providing creators with practical knowledge in business management, financial planning, intellectual property protection and enterprise growth.<\/p>\n
Speaking during the launch, Mike Burns, President and Founding Partner of The Burns Brothers, said Africa\u2019s creative sector has enormous untapped potential but requires stronger business foundations to compete globally.<\/p>\n
He noted that creativity, culture, innovation, intellectual property and human capital will become some of Africa\u2019s most valuable exports in the coming decades, making it essential to equip creators with entrepreneurial skills.<\/p>\n
The self-paced online certification will be delivered through the newly established Creative Economy Africa Institute, which seeks to address longstanding challenges facing the sector, including limited access to business education, financing and intellectual property protection.<\/p>\n
The programme forms part of the institute\u2019s broader ambition to help create one million jobs across Africa by 2035 by strengthening the continent\u2019s creative ecosystem.<\/p>\n
According to figures cited during the launch, drawing on UNESCO estimates, the global creative economy has the potential to generate more than $20 billion annually<\/strong> and support over 20 million jobs<\/strong>, although Africa currently captures only a small share of that value because of structural barriers.<\/p>\n Burns said Creative Economy 101 marks the beginning of a wider effort to build the partnerships, knowledge and institutional support required for creators to establish commercially viable businesses that generate long-term economic value.<\/p>\n Strathmore University Business School Executive Dean Dr. Caesar Mwangi said universities have a critical role in professionalising Africa\u2019s creative economy by combining academic excellence with practical industry experience.<\/p>\n He described the sector as one of the continent\u2019s most significant untapped economic opportunities and said collaboration between academia and industry would help develop competitive creative enterprises and stronger innovation ecosystems.<\/p>\n NCBA Group\u2019s Director of Marketing, Communications and Citizenship, Nelly Wainaina, said the bank views creators as entrepreneurs capable of driving economic growth and job creation.<\/p>\n She said supporting the first cohort through the Elev8 programme reflects NCBA\u2019s commitment to empowering young entrepreneurs with the skills, networks and knowledge required to grow successful businesses.<\/p>\n The seven-module curriculum, certified by Strathmore University Business School, covers business scaling, financial management, intellectual property protection and market expansion.<\/p>\n Organisers said sustained collaboration among universities, governments, investors and private sector players will be essential to preparing Africa\u2019s growing creative workforce for future opportunities and unlocking the full economic value of the continent\u2019s creative industries.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 30 \u2013 NCBA Group has sponsored 10 Kenyan creators to undertake a new entrepreneurship programme designed to equip creatives with the business skills needed to build sustainable enterprises, as stakeholders seek to unlock the vast economic potential of Africa\u2019s creative industry. The sponsorship, offered through NCBA\u2019s Elev8 programme, supports the inaugural Creative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148550\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}