Global Afrobeats superstar David ‘Davido’ Adeleke has urged African governments to invest more in creative spaces as well as provide financial support to artists. Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Tuesday, May 13, he urged African artists to stop seeking validation from outside Africa, emphasizing the growing potential of Africa’s entertainment industry. This was during a panel discussion under the theme “Creative competition: How can Africa claim its place in the global entertainment industry?” ALSO READ: Why investing in creative industry value chains matters The global superstar, who is also the founder of the music label Davido Music Worldwide, emphasized his commitment to changing Africa’s narrative on a global scale through his music fame. Having been born in the US, Davido said he could have stayed and done his music there, but he decided to move to Africa. ALSO READ: Kagame in Côte d’Ivoire for Africa CEO Forum “I moved back to Nigeria, started music, and then my music took me back to America,” he said, underscoring that African artists’ goal should not be to seek validation of their music from America or the UK. The Afrobeats star, who recently released his new album “5ive,” noted that there is still a need for entertainment infrastructure in Africa. Davido has been touring the world and performing live but he stressed that it is a challenge to deliver a standard performance in Africa like he does in the West due to the lack of good facilities. He pointed out that only Rwanda and a few other countries have Arenas that can accommodate their performances, encouraging investment in entertainment infrastructure as it would stop artists from traveling outside the continent seeking better facilities. “The governments obviously can help us a lot with funding. Not just for me, but for the artists that are coming up,” he said. “I can try for myself some more, but there are so many artists out there who are so talented but they don’t have the means. I think that is what is missing.” While the creative industry employs a large number of young people, what is often the case is that the creatives, finance people, philanthropists, and lawyers do not speak the same language, which hinders investment in the industry, Akunna Cook, the CEO of Next Narrative Africa, said. She noted that the industry has been growing, making it worthy of increased investment. In Rwanda, some of the figures in the creative industry had also echoed the same concern, noting that investors should overcome their fear of investing in the entertainment industry as artists continue to prove their worth and reveal untapped potential. ALSO READ: Creatives to investors: Rwandan music needs your attention In January, Rwandan journalist David Bayingana who has been in the creative industry for over two decades, shared an open letter on X (formerly twitter) challenging investors to start eyeing the creative industry. “It has come to [my] attention that several companies, particularly in the marketing and PR sectors, have shown reluctance to support local artists, often due to misguided advice about the viability or impact of such partnerships,” he noted. Investors stepping in Farid Fezoua, the Global Director for Disruptive Technologies, Services, and Funds at International Finance Corporation, said that the creative industry has massive investment opportunities as it is a global industry of $2.5 trillion, contributing to the economies of developed, emerging, and high-growth markets between two to seven percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) commitment and contribution. “That is probably one of the highest socio-economic multipliers in terms of jobs and specifically towards youth and women,” Fezoua noted. “It is an industry that covers close to 30 million jobs and employment. And this is a focus for the World Bank Group.” He noted that the IFC is embarking on investing in entertainment but had to take a step back to learn about the industry “because that was not a space we knew.” He stressed that they have identified media, fashion, sports and entertainment, and createch, with an already existing financing and mobilizing of $900 million over the last two years and are aiming to inject in more than $1.5 billion.
