Over the past couple of months, I've been trying (and failing) to build a thesis on the cultural and creative industries (CCI) across Africa and its Diaspora. Every time I think I've nailed it, a new data point, a new conversation, or a new artist breaking through globally makes me go back and rethink. But the core of what I believe remains the same.
The Thesis
CCI in Africa will be as important to the continent as manufacturing has been to China and outsourcing has been to India.
The Numbers Behind the Ambition
I know. That sounds like a very bold statement. So let me put some numbers around it.
Manufacturing accounts for roughly 25% of China's GDP. In 2024, China's GDP was approximately $18.8 trillion, with manufacturing alone accounting for around $4.7 trillion in annual output. That is larger than the entire GDP of every country in the world except the United States.
For context, Africa's total GDP is approximately $2.8 trillion, according to 2024 IMF estimates. If my thesis proves to be true and CCI contributes at the same proportional scale (25% of GDP), we are looking at roughly $700 billion per annum at today's levels. Right now, it’s difficult to accurately estimate this industry's GDP contribution because I believe we are not tracking the data, or I’m ignorant (if you are reading this and have concrete data, please share). Despite this, I hope CCI can accelerate Africa's overall GDP growth. If the continent reaches $10 trillion in GDP, a figure that is ambitious but not unreasonable given demographic trends and current growth trajectories, CCI would contribute $2.5 trillion per annum. That alone would make it one of the most significant creative economies in history.
For reference, India's IT and outsourcing sector contributes roughly 7.5% to the country's GDP today, with estimates suggesting it will hit 10% by 2026. That sector has been transformative for India's economy. Imagine what a similarly scaled creative economy could do for Africa.
The Factory Analogy
Just like manufacturing in China, goods were designed globally, but factories were located there. The production happened on Chinese soil, and the economic value accrued accordingly. Obviously, CCI does not have factories in the traditional sense, but it has studios, production offices, recording spaces, film sets, design workshops, performance venues and more importantly, human capital. These are the "factories" of the creative economy. The output has had an impact. African music is being consumed worldwide. Nollywood produces around 2,500 films per year and generates an estimated $800 million in annual revenue. African fashion is supposedly valued at over $31 billion. These are products being created on the continent and exported globally. Some of the infrastructure of creation already exists and is growing.
The Capital Repatriation Problem
How China's GDP grew was that the revenue from manufacturing flowed back into the country. The money went back to China, circulated through the economy, and compounded.
In Africa, that is currently not the case.
Artists like Burna Boy do not keep their funds in Africa. Their earnings are in the US, the UK, or both. And honestly, they have their reasons. We have suffered from currency devaluation, political instability, and fragile financial systems. These countries simply offer safer, more stable alternatives for storing wealth. For CCI to truly add value to the continent, we need to find ways to repatriate as much capital as possible to Africa. Without that, we are building a creative economy whose benefits leak to other markets. The studios may be in Lagos or Nairobi, but if the wealth pools in London and New York, the GDP impact remains muted.
This is not just an individual decision. It requires building the financial infrastructure, policy frameworks, and investment vehicles that make keeping money in Africa a rational choice rather than a patriotic one.
Culture as a Risk Reduction Tool
Beyond its contribution to GDP growth, culture plays a very important role in reducing perceptions of risk in Africa. Take Afrobeats, for example. It has made Africa, for lack of a better word, more palatable to the rest of the world. It is now common to hear African music in clubs and on global playlists, with millions of people singing along without understanding the lyrics. That is culture, and we are already exporting it at scale.
Music is only the beginning. Nollywood is the second-largest film industry in the world by volume. African fashion designers are showing at Paris and New York Fashion Weeks. African art is setting records at international auction houses. Every one of these moments chips away at the outdated, one-dimensional narrative about the continent. Now is the perfect time to capitalise on it.
The Industrialisation Imperative
To truly capitalise on this momentum, we need to institutionalise the CCI industry in Africa, as China and India did for manufacturing and outsourcing, respectively. China did not become the world's factory by accident. It built special economic zones, invested in logistics infrastructure, created favourable trade policies, and developed a skilled manufacturing workforce at scale. India did the same for IT outsourcing through initiatives such as the Software Technology Parks scheme, NASSCOM's advocacy, and a deliberate focus on developing English-language technical talent.
Africa needs the equivalent playbook for culture and creativity. Industrialisation will formalise this space and enable more enterprises to be built around it. With formalisation, we will see tangible measurement of the industry's contribution to overall GDP. Right now, much of the creative economy operates informally, which means its impact is systematically undercounted. Kenya's parliament passed the Creative Industries Bill in 2024, creating a framework to support infrastructure, marketing, and funding for creative industries. South Africa has invested in the Cultural Observatory to measure the sector's economic impact. These are promising steps, but we need this kind of institutional thinking across the entire continent (AFCFTA, I’m looking at you).
What HoaQ Is Doing About It
In the typical fashion of "what is Joe doing about this?" ... well, at HoaQ, we are expanding our thesis to cover companies that fall under CCI.
This was a natural extension because we have previously invested in companies like Tix.africa, Kunda Kids, and Athlst, which are either within the CCI space or directly support it. This means that in addition to featuring tech and tech-enabled startups, we will also feature companies and projects within the CCI space.
Beyond adding CCI, our thesis remains the same. We will continue to back founders with domain expertise and technical know-how who have clearly demonstrated traction and who are building for a large enough market. This gives us confidence that the companies in our portfolio have a real shot at success, although our community understands that success is far from guaranteed when investing in early-stage startups and projects.
Join Us
We will prioritise returns for our community and leverage technology to make investments as frictionless as possible. With this expanded thesis, expect the HoaQ community to be outside (figuratively, of course). But if you don't want to miss out on what we are cooking, this is the perfect time to join.
Get started at HoaQ.co
Thanks for reading as always
Hey, Thanks for reading this. If you found it useful, let’s connect on LinkedIn, where I write regularly. If we haven’t met, I’m Joe Kinvi, and I’m building the investment infrastructure for the African Diaspora. Open an account to learn more at app.onborderless.com.