Africa Walk, an annual occasion by funding agency Platform Capital, will likely be held in Nigeria and Senegal from July 24-27. It goals to carry collectively international investors and stakeholders to dispel misconceptions about Africa’s creative industry and foster investments in music, delicacies, artwork, and flicks on the continent.
Africa’s creative industry—its motion pictures, music, artwork and meals—has captured hearts and headlines worldwide. However, regardless of its obvious potential, there persists a fable that Africa’s creative panorama is an impenetrable wilderness, leaving investors hesitant to discover its huge potential. To problem these damaging stereotypes and illuminate the best way for vital and sustainable investments in Africa, funding agency Platform Capital initiated Africa Walk. Africa Walk is an annual occasion that brings collectively investors, firms, and key stakeholders to expertise Africa firsthand. In this 12 months’s version, company will likely be experiencing the creative sectors, together with music, delicacies, artwork, vogue, and movie on the continent.
Speaking to TechCabal, Dr Akintoye Akindele, Platform Capital’s founder, highlighted the mission of Africa Walk: “We started this to quell the negative stereotypes that make investors shy away from the opportunities and potential of the continent,” he mentioned. The inaugural occasion in 2021 supplied an agnostic view of the small and medium enterprise panorama in Nigeria and Kenya. In the second version, Africa Walk journeyed investors to South Africa and Nigeria, the place they delved into the booming tech ecosystem. The third version, themed “Unleashing the Value and Potential of the African Creative Industry”, will happen in Senegal ( July 24-28) and Nigeria (July 29-31).
Since its inception, Africa Walk has been strategically choosing international locations to give attention to based mostly on the distinctive strengths and attributes every area affords. The upcoming third version will occur in each Senegal and Nigeria, a francophone and an anglophone nation respectively. Akindele defined the selection saying, “We want to show that language is not a barrier but a bridge. So the Africa Walk will start from Dakar and then end in Nigeria.” The firm says that it selected Senegal due to all of the francophone international locations, it has essentially the most worldwide site visitors, tourism attraction, and commendable tech infrastructure which helps the creative industry. “From Dakar, investors and stakeholders will continue their journey to Cote d’Ivoire before concluding in Nigeria,” Akindele mentioned.
Despite its huge potential, the creative industry in Africa has usually been perceived as missing the right infrastructure to allow funding. “African artists like Rema have made millions of streams on foreign streaming platforms. Nollywood movies are grossing millions of naira at the box office, how can foreign and local investors get a piece of that?” Akindele requested rhetorically. Africa Walk will tackle this query by way of insightful panel discussions involving key stakeholders, together with Nigeria’s Bank of Industry.
Even inside the African continent, damaging stereotypes concerning the creative industry persist. “Parents want their children to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, but no one walks up to write exams for admission into university thinking that they want to be an actor or a comedian, or an artiste. There is low regard for the professions in the creative industry,” Akindele identified. To fight this stigma and showcase the worth of creative careers, Africa Walk will function profitable creative professionals as audio system, together with actors and different entertainers. Their tales will show that working within the creative industry shouldn’t be solely respectable however can even lead to great success, similar to historically accepted professions.
Africa Walk breaks away from the normal conference-style occasion, providing way more than simply panel discussions. It brings collectively creatives, policymakers, investors, and establishments to have interaction in insightful conversations. However, the occasion goes past discussions by offering attendees with micro-views of the creative industries in every nation and an immersive expertise of the native tradition. This consists of exhibitions of assorted cuisines, numerous types of artwork, and creative showcases that spotlight the area’s expertise and ingenuity.
According to the corporate, over the previous two years, the Africa Walk initiative has been instrumental in securing greater than $200 million in investments for African firms. Platform Capital appears to be like ahead to fostering funding in Africa’s creative industry by way of the upcoming occasion.
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