Afreximbank Will Support Africa’s Creative Industries With A $500 Million Fund
Benedict Oramah, President of African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim Bank), has disclosed that the firm will support Africa’s creative industries with a $500 million fund.
The $500 million fund will enable the creative industries to effectively monetize their creative output.
The disclosure was made during the virtual “fireside chat” organized by the Africa Soft Power Project, entitled “The New Face of African Collaboration.”
Discussion at the event primarily focused on the role of infrastructure and connectivity in advancing Africa’s creative industries, including film, textiles, and design.
Speaking at the event, Africa Investment Forum Senior Director, Chinelo Anohu, stated that digital platforms in Africa should scale up to take advantage of the continent’s surging demand for creative content, and the African Development Bank flagship entity is providing advisory services and investment support to creative players.
“The Africa Investment Forum is working to promote content deals as well as digital infrastructure projects to advance creative industries, including support to smaller players. At AIF 2019, we had a very interesting entrepreneur scheme that saw those that were not as big get the kind of funding they needed to get beyond getting a feasibility study done” she commented.
She added that data is one of the African Development Bank’s strong points whose research division is remarkable. They are developing a mainstream that contains data culled from 55 countries and can be easily accessed by investors whenever they need information.
“Support for intellectual property rights and equipping investors with the data they need to tackle negative perceptions about investing in Africa are key priorities for Africa Investment Forum,” she said
The event was held against the backdrop of the recent coming into force of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The Africa Investment Forum, championed by the African Development Bank and its founding and institutional partners, works to accelerate the closure of the continent’s investment gaps. The Forum currently has a growing portfolio of 118 deals valued at $114 billion.
