Microsoft Word - Achieving the promise of african cultural e

Executive Summary Africa’s cultural heritage is immense and the considerable opportunities offered by the African creative economy have not been harnessed yet . Indeed, the lack of copyright, intellectual property rights and poor enforcement as well as more pervasive market failures often prevent the full exploitation of cultural assets by its creators. Currently Africa’s share in global trade of creative product remain limited at less than 1 per cent of world export but sound policies and targeted investments in this sector can have a significant impact on poverty alleviation through the creation of job for the youth. Africa’s youth hold the key to the continent’s future. Indeed the youth (below 24 years old) make up more than half of most African population. However although they account for only a third of the workforce they account for almost two-thirds of the unemployed. It is critical to highlight that the unemployed youth should not be considered as a burden but rather as a tremendous productive asset whose considerable skills and hidden talents can stimulate the African economy. Creative industries such as the music and entertainment are among the most dynamic sectors in world trade . Indeed over the period 2000-2005, international trade in creative goods and services experienced an unprecedented average annual growth rate of 8.7 per cent and can play a critical role in youth employment in Africa. However, African countries are not yet able to harness their creative capacities. The Nigerian Film industry offers a very good example how a creative industry, can promote growth in Africa while providing youth with job opportunities. Euphemistically known as “Nollywood”, it is the most prolific in the world producing no fewer than 40 new movies every week and the third largest movie industry in the world by value ($250 million). It is estimated that the Nigerian industry provides up to one million job opportunities both directly and indirectly. Despite remarkable achievements, the industry remains unstructured and loosely regulated . Production standards remain low, marketing and distribution linkages are at best ad hoc and access to finance remains extremely limited. There are few global linkages and a strong need to improve quality at all stages of the value chain Piracy is rampant making it difficult for producers to recoup their costs. Until the industry can capture a greater proportion of the revenue stream it will be consigned to making low- budget, low-quality productions and will not have the ability to scale-up its operations and provide a larger number of well-paid jobs. The paper analyses the modern Nigerian film industry revealing how various market failures and coordination issues have resulted in a sub-optimal equilibrium . It also outlines a number of steps that can be taken by the Nigerian authorities and private sector stakeholders to develop the industry to its full potential unleashing great prospect for job

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