How to make the African creative sector profitable? [Business Africa]

 

African artists are no longer simple cultural ambassadors — they are now global economic players. From dominating international music charts to influencing fashion and cinema globally, African creative talent is attracting unprecedented attention. Yet for years, this cultural power has struggled to translate into sustainable income and access to finance. This could be changing.

A new political impetus, driven in particular by recent declarations from G20 and by major legal reforms Nigeria, lays the foundation for a stronger creative economy. At the heart of these reforms is a crucial change: the recognition of intellectual property — music catalogs, film rights, publishing and brand values — as assets.

By allowing creators to use their intellectual property as collateral, policymakers hope to unlock financing, attract institutional investment and ensure the long-term sustainability of artists and creative entrepreneurs.

The creative industry expert Audu Maikori stresses that, despite progress, significant challenges remain. The continent's more than 50 legal systems complicate the establishment of a unified copyright framework, raising the question of whether regional approaches would provide better protection for creators. At the same time, the african artists continue to be at risk when signing international contracts, often without the legal safeguards necessary to protect their rights and income.

Beyond political reforms, specialists believe that concrete solutions —such as a better understanding of contracts, the strengthening of collecting societies and access to legal and financial advisory services — will be essential to enable creators to monetize their work over the long term.

The challenge of trafficking a megacity: Dar es Salaam

While creativity opens up new things economic borders. african cities face the cost of rapid urbanization.

Dar es Salaam, economic capital of the Tanzania and home to around six million inhabitants, is developing at lightning speed, but its transport infrastructure is struggling to keep up. Despite the government's decision to transfer most official functions to the political capital, Dodoma, road congestion in Dar es Salaam continues to worsen, reducing productivity and increasing costs for businesses.

According to the World Bank, the city is poised to become a megacity, with a population exceeding ten million in the coming years. Without major investments in transport systems, urban planning and congestion management, economic pressure could intensify, affecting trade, labor mobility and overall competitiveness.

As reported Isaac Lukando for Africanews, the challenge facing Dar es Salaam is emblematic of a broader problem on the continent: how to build cities capable of supporting growth without being paralyzed by their own expansion.

The mobile money boom and the billion accounts

At the same time, the African financial landscape is being discreetly —and quickly — redesigned.

MTN's latest financial performance highlights a strong reality: mobile money is no longer a simple complementary service. It now constitutes one of the pillars of the African financial system.

In 2024, sub-saharan africa reached a historic milestone by exceeding 1.1 billion accounts mobile money recorded — or more than half of the world total. Telecom operators, once perceived as peripheral players in finance, are now overtaking traditional banks in number of customers, transaction volumes and financial inclusion.

From payments to savings, credit and insurance, mobile money platforms are redefining the way Africans access and use financial services. As telecoms consolidate their dominance, regulators and banks are increasingly forced to adapt to a new financial order — driven by technology, scale and accessibility.