By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has reconstituted the Creative Africa Advisory Group (CAAG), which oversees and provides guidance for implementing the Bank’s Creative Africa Nexus Programme.
The organisation aims to create a more dynamic framework and offers financial support for cultural and creative works across Africa.
The first meeting of the reconstituted Advisory Group took place at the Waldorf Astoria, Heliopolis, in Cairo on July 9, 2024, and was co-chaired by the Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development of the African Union Commission, Minata Samate Cessouma, and the founder of Silverbird Group in Nigeria, Mr Ben Murray-Bruce.
The CAAG is tasked with guiding Afreximbank’s strategy to support the growth of creative and cultural industries in Africa and its diaspora. Each member will serve a two-year term.
During the meeting, the CAAG was updated on the overall implementation of the CANEX Programme and particularly on the preparations for the upcoming CANEX Weekend in Algeria. Members were also briefed on the status of the CANEX Africa Digital Platform and the establishment of CANEX Creations Incorporated, the bank’s intellectual property investment vehicle.
The recommendations shared by CAAG members were to establish a finance subcommittee to ensure optimal disbursement of the Bank’s financing facilities and funding, and continued outreach on our financial products to creatives.
“The bank has been instrumental in helping the AU’s Culture and Sports Programme deliver initiatives aligned with our long-term development objective, The Africa We Want Agenda 2063, and the Revised AU Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries, 2023.
“We look forward to continued collaboration with the Creative Africa Advisory Group and galvanizing opportunities between the Bank and the Commission leading to conducive policies and regulatory environment for Africa’s creative and cultural economies,” Cessouma-Samate said.
On his part, Mr Murray-Bruce emphasized the crucial role of the Bank in supporting creative ventures through innovation.
“Some of the biggest artists in the world today are Africans and we must be innovative so that channelling money to the continent ceases being an enigma,” he stated.
“Reconstituting the Creative Africa Advisory Group marks a significant milestone in our journey to elevate Africa’s creative and cultural industries to new heights. The contributions of the first CAAG cohort have been invaluable in bringing us to this point.
“As we move forward, I am confident that the reconstituted CAAG will build on their legacy, driving innovation, fostering investment, intra-African trade and export development, and enhancing cultural expression across the continent.
“Together, we will continue to support and empower Africa’s creative talents, in the context of a Global Africa, ensuring their rightful place on the global stage,” the Executive Vice President of Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Kanayo Awani, who was represented by the acting Director of Trade Facilitation and IATF (Intra-African Trade Bank), Gainmore Zanamwe, said.