I have come across an article dating back to 2009 by Peter Musa published by ‘D+C Development and Cooperation‘, a website and a monthly print magazine funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and commissioned by ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL.
The article is entitled “The merits of Cultural Entrepreneurship in Africa – Becoming active“.
The author suggests African cultural entrepreneurs to embrace an active position as professionals instead of waiting for government support. He presents some great cases of people from Yaounde in Cameroon, Dakar in Senegal, Nairobi in Kenya, Maputo in Mozambique, and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.
I keep two interesting points from this article:
– “Today, it is increasingly understood that issues such as political freedom, transparency of government affairs or respect for the law and human rights depend on cultural activities and arts, among other things. Cultural expression is fundamental for social life and has the potential of defining public discourse.”
– “Cultural entrepreneurs are developing festivals throughout Africa. These festivals showcase the continent’s rich performance culture and will increasingly provide the platforms, promising artists need to launch international careers. One must not under-estimate the economic relevance of such festivals. They generate incomes and jobs. Moreover, they contribute to promoting tourism.”
For more info, read here.
Culture & Capital 