Africa Creative Market 2022 ushers in new phase for continent’s creative industry 

By Chisom Nwatu

The Africa Creative Market (ACM) 2022 has birthed a new phase for the African creative industry with the inaugural creative event which took place in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub and epicenter of creativity in Africa.

The series of events which took place at both Landmark Event Center and Lagos Continental Hotel in Lagos sought to converge Africa’s creatives in one sitting, providing endless opportunities for them to upgrade their skills and industry knowledge base, as well as have access to necessary funding.

ACM 2022 covered several sectors within the creative industry, with key references to the film & TV, music, dance, photography and fashion industries and saw partners prominent in their industries curate experiences and provide numerous opportunities for creatives within each space.

Experts at the event shared ideas and initiatives surrounding marketing as a way of life and bedrock of brand development. Discussions centred around introducing African creatives to the right initiatives, strategies and processes to develop and build their brand as well as to make their brand stand out in the market.

The Africa Creative Market, an all-inclusive platform for talents and stakeholders in Africa’s creative industry, was conceived to foster the exchange of value, ideas, creativity, and perceptions between Africa’s creative sector and that of the world, according to the organisers.

They said the ACM platform was created to facilitate value exchange between Africa’s creative sector and the world and has a mission to empower creatives to scale, by providing the blueprint for establishing commercially viable and sustainable business models.

“With this market, we are creating infrastructures for more musicians, filmmakers, fashion designers, or dancers to have sustainable economic situations while doing their craft and living with their unique talents and scaling that business while taking it global,” Nicole Ackermann, co-founder, Africa Creative Market.

Inya Lawal, founder, ACM, emphasized the importance of understanding one’s value and their unique talent, saying it was essential to also identify one’s purpose in life and career industry.

Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ooni of Ife, while speaking at the grand breakfast organized for him and the foreign contingent attending the event, said that “creativity is not isolated in any means”.

Ogunwusi, who is also the grand patron of the Africa Creative Market, said he would support the development of the creative industry through various internationally agreed joint venture programmes under the Africa Creative Network.

The Africa Creative Market 2022 featured pitch competition, funding sessions, panel discussions by industry experts, networking sessions, capacity building/training programmes by professionals, fashion EVO – fashion show by the YD Company, dance by Kaffy, MTV Base spotlight concert with Falz the Bad Guy, an art exhibition hosted by Lagos Continental Hotel and 543 Luxury Privé, and other exciting activities.

The six-day event also played host to the bi-annual Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) Summit as well as the third edition of the Business of Photography Conference, a platform that brings together creatives within the photography and videography space.

Africa Creative Market founders Inya Lawal, Bada Akintunde Johnson, and Nicole Ackermann during the closing ceremony extended their utmost appreciation to all the partners, media, exhibitors, vendors, crew members and all stakeholders who contributed their resources, time, and efforts to execute a successful maiden show. They said the ACM has become a platform that will continually host and provide global opportunities for creatives through various avenues.

In attendance at some of the events were Chioma Ude, founder, Africa International Film Festival, and Nicole Jefferson, renowned filmmaker, both of who featured as panellists, Bright Wonder Obasi, founder & CEO, High Definition Film Academy & Studio, who flagged off the master class for aspiring and established filmmakers, among others.