An initiative to empower creatives and entrepreneurs, through means including funding and mentorship, has been launched by the French Consulate in Ghana.

The initiative is called Creation Africa-Ghana.

On Monday, November 13, 2023, at the French Embassy, an official call for proposals was made to creatives and entrepreneurs, especially aspiring and fledgling individuals.

In attendance was the President of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who also addressed the audience.

He lauded Ghanaian creative arts players, from yesteryears and today, acknowledging the positive impact of their work.  

"Creation Africa which is taking Ghana as its first port of call. It is something that we in Ghana should be proud of and accept. And the reason for it is something which, to Ghanaians, should be obvious.

“We have a dynamic, viable and strong creative industry in Ghana, and it's not of today's making; for long as I can remember, Ghanaian musicians, artists, painters have done so much work to bring our culture up to date, to refine it, to redefine it and generally to make it relevant to the struggles and efforts we were making to develop," the president said.

Mr Akufo-Addo doubled down, saying arts and culture drive create wealth and drive economic growth.

"The cultural and creative industries are themselves huge drivers of growth, of wealth creation, as well as, of course, of cultural and creative output," he said.

The French Ambassador to Ghana, Jules Armand Aniambossou, for his part revealed he and his team, via the Creative Africa Ghana initiative, seek to unite the worlds of creative arts and entrepreneurship to both realise and maximise unique benefits for players involved and society as a whole.

Thus, he declared: “We invite aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators to submit their projects for a chance to receive mentorship, resources and money."

African countries under the Creation Africa initiative are 15, namely: Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Madagascar.

In Ghana, Creation Africa is in partnership with Impact Hub.

Creation Africa-Ghana, is funded by the French government through the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Ministry of Economy.