The Creative Industries were defined in the Government’s 2001 Creative Industries Mapping Document 2 as “those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property”.

Cultural and Creative Sectors are increasingly getting recognized as one of the most dynamic and innovative sectors in Africa, contributing to peoples’ quality of life, attractiveness and economic growth. The rise of the creative economy is reflective of the larger shift occurring within the global economy – the shift from economies based on the production of goods to economies based on the provision of services. This change is expected to be as big and as challenging as the transformation in the 1700s from agrarian to industrial societies (MPI, 2009).
In the post global development agenda, the United Nation and its leaders are working to ensure the importance of the creative economy is reflected as a driver and an enabler of sustainable human development in the future development goals. Countries around the world are transitioning into functioning within a knowledge economy where information and knowledge are important drivers of economic growth.

As we navigate this move to a post-industrial knowledge economy from an economy purely based on the production of goods to an economy significantly fueled by ideas and innovation, the role of creativity in shaping that growth can no longer be ignored.

The creative economy in general is increasingly getting recognized for economic and their non- monetized social benefits. The sector empowers people with capacities to take ownership of their own development processes. As a people centered and place based approach by governments is integrated into development. As economies take calculated interventions to the creative economy, a structured approach is put into account for trans-formative and sustainable change across the sector.

During the debate on culture and development held in New York in June 2013, the United Nations Secretary – General Ban Ki Moon, recognized in his opening remarks that too many well intended development programmes had failed because they did not take cultural settings into account and thus development failing to focus on people.

To jam start the sector, we must mobilize people by first getting to understand and embrace their culture. In essence, for acceptability, stakeholders must encourage dialogue at all levels by listening to all partners and issues at stake. This will inform the new course for sustainable development. There are varying trends in understanding of the relationship between the creative economy and economic development, but what stands out is that, the society today is shaped and conditioned for development by the arts and culture within the creative economy.

As the creative economy sector become an increasing driving force at the market place, it is essential to measure its impact to the economy and the community at large. In the environment full of continuous change, and globalization, many agree that creativity and innovation are the new driving forces to the world economy. With an acknowledgement of the same by the United Nations, it’s now for the Nations, organisations and individuals to embrace the sector as a significant contributor of revenue as well pose a bright and stable future through enhanced development activities.

To capture attention and build value, PWC outlook shows that, companies need to understand how local and global markets are impacted by the changing pace of the entertainment and media industry. According to Outlook, Kenya’s total entertainment and media industry was worth US$2.2 billion in 2015, a 9.1% rise on the year before. An 8.3% CAGR will lead to nearly 50% growth in absolute terms, with total E&M revenue rising to be worth US$3.3 billion by 2020.

From the above, it is evident that reliable data in the sector is important for the understanding of both economic and social dimensions of the creative economy. Statistics therefore is needed if any country want to develop and implement evidence based industry policies as well as the need to monitor and evaluate overall performance and effectiveness within prescribed time-frame.

The emerging importance of this sector globally is increasingly gaining currency to policymakers and economists. This is so as to establish the value of these industries in their respective economies, need to understand the trends in consumption, trade, impact and other benefits that emanate from the sector. This calls for a purposeful management and planning of key infrastructural facilities that would enable a structural approach to the creative economy business.

The writer is a Chartered Marketer and a film industry professional and can be reached at timothy.owase@live.com