Greetings
For too long, we have paid lip service to the potential impact of Africa’s creative and cultural industries. In the 2024 article Africa’s creative industries: unleashing economic growth, Stanislas Diouf writes, “by 2030, Africa is projected to produce up to 10% of global exports of creative goods, valued at around $200 billion (or 4% of Africa’s GDP)”.
While there have been countless symposiums, articles, white papers, reports and action plans, progress feels disjointed and slow.
In 2025, InsightsOut Africa released the report Invest in Africa’s Creative Industries: There Is a Renaissance Going On.
My hope for 2026 is that we finally start to ensure that the creative industries across the continent finally realise their full potential with tangible support across the board from governments, relevant institutions and the private sector. Even if only some of the things detailed in 10 Trends Changing Africa’s Creative Economy in 2026 happen, we will be the better for it.
To start 2025, This Is African Art published a post titled Why African Art is Set to Dominate the Global Stage in 2025. During the year, in this newsletter, we highlighted some of the initiatives to take place across the continent and the world. While African art hasn’t necessarily dominated, it has carved a place for itself that has bucked the trend, as per this post Art Index Africa Wrapped - African Art in 2025, which states: “If African art had a Spotify Wrapped in 2025, the headline wouldn’t be “fastest-growing.” It would be “most consistent.” In a global art market defined by contraction and caution, African art didn’t spike—it held its ground.”
It is always interesting to see where people’s thinking is, particularly when looking forward at the end of a year/start of a new year always brings out the full gambit of forecasts about what to expect in the year ahead. Of course, with so much uncertainty in the world today, finding the patterns becomes even harder. With that said, there is value in tracking trends:
Africa’s Startup Ecosystem in 2026: Seven Predictions That Will Redefine Growth and Opportunities
Africa’s Top Tech Trends of 2026: What You Need To Know
Africa: Trends To Watch in 2026
Moving people and goods across the continent is a challenge that continues to hamper initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which seek to improve intra Africa trade. The development of a rail transport system that is not designed simply to extract resources is key in turning this around. Africa’s Rail Powering the Next Phase of Economic Growth.
Energy across the continent continues to be unpredictable. In the words of Nigerian economist, banker and philanthropist Tony Elumelu, “We need a new Marshall plan for Africa. This, for me, should be in improving access to electricity. Once that is done to a large extent, every other thing falls in place.”
An initiative to address this challenge is the exploration of Integrated Small Modular Reactors (i-SMRs), next-generation Smart-Safe Nuclear Systems (SsNCs). Are AI-enabled i-SMRs The Next Frontier of Africa’s Clean Energy Transition?
If you enjoyed this edition of the Ogojiii newsletter, please do share with others who you feel would enjoy it as well. We look forward to your comments, input and contributions. You can send me links to interesting articles for possible inclusion in the Ogojiii newsletter and on our Medium page on kojo@ogojiii.com.
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