For a long time, Africa’s creative economy was treated as something to celebrate rather than something to seriously invest in.
We celebrated the musicians, designers, filmmakers, artists and creators who were putting African culture on the global map, but the conversation often stopped at talent. Increasingly, however, that is no longer enough. Behind the music, fashion, film and digital content is an economy being built in real time, one that is creating businesses, jobs, audiences and entirely new pathways to income for a young generation of Africans.
The numbers are beginning to make the case difficult to ignore. The East African Community estimates that cultural and creative industries account for approximately 3% of the region’s GDP, while in Uganda, the creative economy has been estimated at about 3% of GDP, worth roughly UGX 4.2 trillion in 2023. The sector spans everything from music and fashion to film, design, performing arts, software and gaming. Yet its economic importance remains far less visible in mainstream business conversations than sectors traditionally associated with growth and investment.
Perhaps that needs to change.
The creator is becoming an entrepreneur
One of the most interesting things happening across East Africa is the collapse of the old distinction between “creative” and “businessperson.”
The musician is building a brand. The fashion designer is running a label. The content creator is building a media business. The filmmaker is developing intellectual property. The photographer is monetising a global audience. The artist is selling beyond their home market.
Digital platforms have accelerated this transformation. A creator in Kampala no longer necessarily needs a major media house, record label or international distributor to find an audience. The barriers have lowered, and the opportunity to build something independently has expanded.
But opportunity is not the same thing as infrastructure.
For every creator who breaks through, there are many more navigating limited access to capital, professional networks, distribution, mentorship and commercial opportunities. The region has talent in abundance. What remains less developed is the ecosystem capable of helping that talent become sustainable businesses.
And this is where the conversation about brands becomes interesting.
Brands can no longer simply borrow culture
Johnnie Walker’s launch of its new Keep Walking campaign in East Africa provides an interesting case study in how that relationship is evolving.
At the heart of the campaign is a simple idea: progress is not only about the destination, but everything that happens along the way,the work, the setbacks, the decisions, the persistence and the courage required to keep moving.
The campaign has brought that idea to life by unveiling Ugandan musician Joshua Baraka as its Icon Walker, with the artist set to take the campaign beyond Kampala through a nationwide roadshow.
But the more interesting story is what sits behind the campaign.
Johnnie Walker is operating in a cultural environment where creators are no longer simply sources of entertainment or personalities for brands to associate with. They are increasingly economic actors in their own right, building communities, intellectual property, businesses and influence.
That means the relationship between brands and the creative economy has to evolve.
It cannot simply be about putting a logo behind a concert, featuring an artist in an advert or borrowing the cultural relevance of a creator. The bigger opportunity is for brands to contribute to the ecosystem that makes creative success possible.
That could mean creating platforms, opening access to audiences, investing in talent, providing mentorship, facilitating collaborations or creating commercial opportunities that allow creators to turn influence into sustainable businesses.
As Christine Kyokunda, Brand Manager, Johnnie Walker Uganda, puts it: “The creative economy is full of people who are building their own paths, often without a clear blueprint for where that journey will take them. What we want to recognise through Keep Walking is not only the success people eventually achieve, but the courage, consistency and creativity it takes to get there.”
The bigger opportunity
This is why the creative economy deserves to move higher up the business agenda.
Africa has one of the world’s youngest populations, an increasingly connected consumer base and a generation that is exceptionally comfortable creating, consuming and distributing culture digitally. Those conditions create an enormous opportunity,not only for creators, but for the businesses that build around them.
The challenge is moving from isolated success stories to a functioning ecosystem.
Governments have a role to play in strengthening policy, infrastructure and intellectual property protection. Financial institutions can develop more relevant financing models for creative businesses. Technology companies can continue opening access to global audiences. And brands can become meaningful commercial partners rather than occasional sponsors.
The creative economy does not need to be rescued. It needs to be recognised.
It is already creating value. It is already shaping culture. It is already building businesses.
The question is whether the business community will recognise the opportunity early enough, and whether it will choose to simply participate in the culture, or help build the ecosystem behind it.
Johnnie Walker’s Keep Walking launch arrives at an interesting moment because its central idea mirrors the reality of the creative economy itself: before the breakthrough, there is the work.
And across Africa, that work is already underway.
