May 23, (THEWILL) – Leading stakeholders across Africa’s creative and knowledge industries, have called for increased collaborations, towards the advancement of the continent’s creative and knowledge eco-system, ahead of the 2022 Africa Soft Power Summit in Kigali.
With the Africa Soft Power Summit celebrating its return to a real-world setting, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the stakeholders, drawn from diverse sectors across Africa’s creative and business sectors, have thrown their weight behind the summit, themed ‘Africa and the Global Community’, while calling for increased collaborations across diverse sectors, towards enabling laudable growth for the continent.
Sharing his thoughts on the role of quality partnerships in creating an improved narrative for African creative talents, Prolific Nigerian rapper and record producer, Jude ‘MI’ Abaga, expressed that there is no better time than now to leverage deliberate collaboration to drive growth and significant progress for Africa’s creative industry.
“A large pool of talented youth, doing great within the entertainment sector, we already have. It is imperative that we work together and collectively, to harness the huge talent that abound on the continent. That is the only way forward towards greater representation and positioning, especially on the global scale” he said.
Dickson Nsofor, Kora’s Co-founder and CEO, believes the summit will help push a positive narrative for Africa and connect the continent even more strongly to the world.
“We are excited to throw our weight behind the African Soft Power Summit because of our shared commitments for creating a positive African narrative. While the ASP summit is focused on leveraging the creative industry, among other initiatives, to push a positive narrative for Africa, we, at Kora, are leveraging our pan-African payment infrastructure to connect Africa to the world,” Dickson said.
Scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda from May 26 to 27, the 2022 Africa Soft Power Summit will feature combine sessions, networking activities, and local events, in celebration of Africa’s unique creative, knowledge and digital industries.
Speaking on the forthcoming event and the progress that it will enable for the continent, Founder and Creative Director of the Africa Soft Power Summit, Nkiru Balonwu, stated that what Africa’s creative and cultural industries bring to the global economy is unique.
“This year’s event will showcase the growing power of the digital, creative and knowledge economies. Modern economies are shifting, and if African countries are quick to embrace this change, we can create more homegrown opportunities, hold onto our brightest minds, and be a pioneer in building the creative and digital sectors of the future.
About the Author
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
