The conversations around the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have focused largely on manufacturing, agriculture, and industrial production for several years. While these sectors remain central to the agreement’s ambitions, another part of Africa’s economy is steadily moving into the discussion: the creative economy.
We now have fashion brands reaching customers beyond their home countries and African designers attracting global buyers. Leather products, too, are finding new markets. Then there are digital platforms that are allowing creators to build audiences across borders long before they establish a physical presence in new territories.
This evolution formed the backdrop of the Enterprise Spotlight on Fashion, Leather and Creative Industries, convened by the Lagos State Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the theme, Crafting Prosperity: Connecting African Creativity to Markets, Capital and Growth.
READ ALSO: Sanwo-Olu Says Lagos Will Keep Investing in Nigeria’s Creative Economy
Speaking at the event, Ahunna Eziakonwa, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa, urged entrepreneurs in the fashion, leather and creative industries to take advantage of the opportunities created by AfCFTA.
Her message was straightforward: the agreement opens access to a continental market of approximately 1.4 billion people, allowing businesses to expand beyond domestic borders while benefiting from easier regional trade.
Yet her remarks also pointed to a deeper challenge. Access to a larger market alone does not automatically create larger businesses.
AfCFTA is becoming a creative economy story
AfCFTA has long been discussed through the lens of goods crossing borders, tariffs being reduced and trade volumes expanding. These outcomes are important, but they represent only part of the agreement’s potential. Let’s remember that creative products are also traded.
And that films travel across markets. Fashion brands also sell beyond their countries of origin. And designers collaborate across regions. Musicians? They build audiences throughout the continent. And digital creators, too, attract followers regardless of geography. As these industries become more commercialized, regional integration becomes just as relevant to creators as it is to manufacturers.
That is why Eziakonwa described the creative sector as part of Africa’s “orange economy”, driven by talent, innovation and resilience. She encouraged entrepreneurs to build businesses capable of serving both African and international markets, adding, “We must grow locally, produce locally, sell locally but also internationally, and we must be proud of Made in Africa.”
The statement holds water in that it reflects a broader shift in how policymakers and development institutions are viewing the creative economy. It is no longer being framed solely as a cultural sector but as a contributor to trade, employment, exports and economic growth.
A larger market alone does not remove structural barriers
While AfCFTA expands commercial opportunities, entering new markets requires far more than access. Businesses need production capacity that can meet higher demand. They need reliable supply chains, quality assurance systems, logistics networks and sufficient working capital to fulfil larger orders. These challenges are particularly significant for small and medium-sized creative businesses.
A fashion label may receive interest from buyers in multiple African countries but struggle to finance larger production runs. A leather manufacturer may produce export-quality products while lacking the equipment needed to scale operations. A creative entrepreneur may identify regional demand but remain constrained by the cost of expanding beyond local markets.
Market access creates opportunity. Turning that opportunity into sustained business growth depends on whether enterprises have the resources required to compete.
Financing remains one of the sector’s biggest constraints
Throughout the event, access to finance emerged as one of the most pressing concerns. Eziakonwa noted that talent and creativity are abundant across Africa’s creative industries, but financing continues to limit production quality, business expansion and export readiness. She called on governments to create stronger ecosystems where entrepreneurs, financiers and investors can work together, while encouraging private investors to direct more capital towards creative enterprises.
Her comments echo findings from organizations such as UNESCO, which has consistently identified access to finance, business development support and investment as essential to unlocking the full economic potential of cultural and creative industries. Similarly, UNCTAD has argued that creative industries represent one of the world’s most dynamic sectors but require stronger policy support and investment frameworks to realize their contribution to sustainable development.
The challenge is rarely a shortage of ideas for many African creative businesses. More often, it is a shortage of capital capable of transforming promising ideas into scalable enterprises.
Infrastructure matters as much as creativity
Now finance was not the only issue raised during the discussions. Elsie G. Attafuah, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, pointed to inadequate energy supply as another major obstacle affecting manufacturers within the fashion and leather industries.
Reliable electricity remains fundamental to production efficiency, product quality and business competitiveness. Industrial clusters with dependable infrastructure can significantly reduce production costs while enabling businesses to meet larger commercial orders.
Attafuah also highlighted the importance of stronger collaboration between states to develop leather value chains and strengthen local production.
These observations support a broader reality about Africa’s creative economy: that creativity alone does not build globally competitive industries. Infrastructure, financing, production systems and institutional collaboration all influence whether creative businesses can expand beyond domestic markets.
Why this matters for Africa’s creative economy
The significance of UNDP’s message matters beyond one conference. It reflects a wider recognition that Africa’s creative industries have become an economic sector with growing strategic importance. Governments, development institutions and investors are paying closer attention because creative businesses generate employment, contribute to exports and strengthen Africa’s global cultural influence.
AfCFTA has already created one of the largest integrated markets in the world. The next phase will depend on whether African creative businesses can fully participate in it and that will require more than talent. It will require investment that helps businesses scale, infrastructure that supports production, financing designed for creative enterprises and policies that allow entrepreneurs to compete confidently across borders.
Only then will the promise of a 1.4-billion-person market become a commercial reality for Africa’s creative economy, rather than an opportunity that remains largely out of reach.
