Theatre and music slowly taking centre stage in generation of wealth

The creative industry is slowly taking a central role in wealth creation, thereby shaking off the perception that it is a domain for academic failures.

 This follows increased demand for local entertainment, with conservative figures showing that the industry — comprising broadcast, film, music, art, publishing, advertising, animation and gaming — created 64,000 jobs last year, and 2,133 per cent growth in labour demand.

In monetary terms, the Kenya Economic Survey 2014 shows the industry grew 17 per cent to generate Sh3.4 billion in 2013, from Sh2.9 billion in 2012.

More generous figures provided in the PriceWaterhouseCoopers 2014 country connectivity report estimate the industry’s contribution to Kenya’s economy to be Sh150 billion.

Growth of this “industry is largely driven by the Internet and by consumers’ love of new technology, in particular mobile gadgets such as smartphones and tablets, as well as applications powered by data analytics and cloud services.

“Technology is increasingly being driven by consumer needs and expectations,” the PwC report says.

The creative economy is now serious business. India’s Bollywood contributes more than $21 billion to the economy. Nigeria’s Nollywood, although not well diversified, is ranked third globally in gross earnings — it generated more than $800 million in 2013.

On December 5, 2013, The Guardian published a story titled: Hollywood has blockbuster impact on US economy that tourism fails to match.

Creative industries led by Hollywood account for about $504 billion, or at least 3.2 per cent of US goods and services, the government said in its first official measure of how arts and culture affect the economy.

Potential for employment

“It is time we built the creative economy sector. It is the one that unites us, and has great potential for employment. It must be engaged with differently,” says former Information and Communication PS Bitange Ndemo.

In 2011, Dr Ndemo established a Creative Industry Taskforce “to understand and define the creative content sector in Kenya; whose end result will be to create 10 per cent of employment by 2017.”

Mr Michael Onyango, the board director of the Kenya Films Commission, says the creative industry’s contribution to the country’s economy has been disregarded.

“Our biggest resource is and will continue to be human; this is what the creative industry offers. We should tap into it and lead the world,” Mr Onyango said.

“The fashion, storytelling, local music band and spoken poetry categories were not captured. The Kenya Bureau of Statistics should strive to capture this,” he said.  “Currently, we are probably doing four to five per cent of GDP. If we put more focus, we can do 10 per cent by 2017.”

Realising the great potential of the industry, both private and public sectors have joined hands to build infrastructure and capacity to commercialise creative talent and reap vast fortunes. A number of foreign firms are jetting in to invest in the industry.

The Jubilee government promised to promote indigenous creative talent by establishing a Kenya Film School and increasing domestic content on television to 60 per cent — half of which should be independently produced. It also promised to increase support for the Kenya Film Commission in improving its facilities, with a fully-equipped National Film and Animation Studios to promote local talent and innovation.

A plan is in the offing to promote the performing arts by constructing an ultra-modern national theatre with audio-visual live-links in Nairobi and consolidate the required licences for artistes/ musicians to perform in the country. This could change the current fake-it-till-you-make-it philosophy adopted by most of the creative industry in Kenya.

A story is told of wannabe celebrities who live a life far above their reach; fake expensive cars, flashy but broke, shooting expensive music videos, renting in high-cost leafy suburbs.

A leading gospel singer is said to have recently accused a fast-rising local star of posing with expensive cars in one of his videos shot in South Africa. “I think Kenyan celebs try too much. They fake it too hard,” he was quoted saying.

Much as his sentiments might be true, film expert Onyango believes that this aspired lifestyle is achievable if the government and the private sector  support their home-grown artistes.

“We lack appreciation of our own artistes, incentives and policies that would ensure our talent is protected and well exploited,” he says.

Use of local content

“Over 68 per cent of the Kenyan population is under 35 years. The interests of these people are focused mainly on the creative industry. The greatest and easiest way for the economy to grow is by boosting this group,” Mr Onyango says.

This could also benefit from the regulator’s move to enforce use of local content by media in the county. The Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) says broadcast stations should air at least 40 per cent local content by June next year.

In a move aimed at boosting the creative industry, broadcasters who do not meet this requirement will be penalised.

The regulator found that only three out of 10 local content produced ended up on Kenyan television last year.

This cuts the average coverage of local content in the country to 36.6 per cent. KBC leads in airing local content at 50 per cent, followed by QTV at 44 per cent. The rest are ranked below 40.

As part of its role to regulate the sector, CA wants to ensure that 50 per cent of the content on Kenyan television and radio is locally authored.

The regulator wants to achieve a 60 per cent local content quota by 2017.

“We want to promote national and collective identity and local talent, create a source of income to content developers, and protect the public against offensive content,” Mr Wangusi said.

The Creative Economy Working Group (CEWG) now spearheads growth of creative content in Kenya. It was formed by a group of 10 Kenyan cultural groups.

Since inception last year, the group has been robustly exploring and re-positioning Kenya’s creative economy as a viable sector, and championing relevant legislation.

“We aim to promote and enhance growth of the creative sector in Kenya,” said Ms Judy Ogana, general manager of GoDown Arts Centre in Nairobi (a member of CEWG).

Ms Ogana said fragmentation, gaps in critical aspects of the value chain, and lack of critical data are some of the factors hampering the growth of the sector.

But she praises the launch of the National Policy on Culture and Heritage in 2010 saying that since it came into existence, there has been a notable improvement in recognition of artistes countrywide.

“Celebration of this policy, which was to be the blueprint of growth and development of the sector, was short-lived as challenges on how to actualise it proved a test for the Department of Culture, which is still grappling with the document, four years on,” Ms Ogana says.

She adds that these policies would come in handy as Kenyan artistes are being sought by the world stage.

“We know what the creative economy is, but we fail to leverage its potential to create wealth and employment. Many of Africa’s great artistes have died poor, unlike their counterparts in other countries that have exploited this industry to create wealth and unite citizens,” Dr Ndemo adds.

“Laws and regulations of EAC partner states, however, still present barriers to increased cross-border trade and foreign direct investment in the region,” The East African Common Market Scorecard 2014 report notes.