ANANSE VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLES
Canvas to Commerce:
Redesigning Skills Development for Africa's Creative Future
23 October 2025
09:00 DAKAR | 10:00 LAGOS | 11:00 CAPE TOWN | 12:00 NAIROBI
Canvas to Commerce:
Redesigning Skills Development for Africa's Creative Future
📅 23 October 2025 | 🕙 10:00 WAT (UTC+1)
By 2030, Africa's creative industries could generate over $20 billion annually and create 20 million jobs, yet growth is constrained by outdated training systems and the absence of future-proof ecosystems needed for global competitiveness.
Skill building is vital to tackle complex business and tech challenges like export and compliance, yet access remains limited. A systemic gap in infrastructure and opportunity continues to hinder industry growth and youth potential.
A recent survey by Ananse revealed that 75% of creatives lack basic commerce skills and only 12 out of 55 African countries have a national strategy for the creative economy. The stats expose a broken skills pipeline.
This inaugural roundtable explores how to redesign skills development to unlock Africa's creative growth potential by aligning training with commerce and emerging talent - asking, what approaches can make training more inclusive for youth and women entrepreneurs, particularly given constraints around affordability, connectivity and caregiving responsibilities? We will examine how training models can be reimagined to reflect the diverse lived realities of entrepreneurs across the continent.
Rita Ngenzi
Founding Director
Africa Creatives AllianceÂ
Speakers
Bayo Omoboriowo
Founder
Tikera Africa
Somachi Chris-Asoluka
CEO
Tony Elumelu Foundation
Lauren England
Founding Director
Africa Creatives AllianceÂ
Dr. Isa E. Omagu
Chief Strategy and Development Officer & Divisional Head, Strategy, Policy, and Research
Onome Umukoro
Moderator
Ananse Africa
Themes for the coming Roundtable
The Curriculum Deficit: How can we better align curricula with the needs of Africa’s creative economy?
Bridging the Digital and Geographical Divides: How can successful training initiatives, such as Ananse, be leveraged by stakeholders to reach creatives in underserved regions across the continent?
Weaving a More Inclusive Creative Economy: What approaches can make training more inclusive for youth and women entrepreneurs, given constraints around affordability, connectivity, and care giving responsibilities? How can training models be redesigned to accommodate the diverse lived realities of entrepreneurs across the continent?
Taking Africa to the World: How can training programs integrate state-of-the-art infrastructure and digital tools to prepare creatives to meet export-quality standards?
Funding Skills Development: What role can public–private partnerships play in funding and sustaining long-term training models that blend creative, business, and digital skills?
Measuring for Success: How can monitoring and evaluation systems be strengthened to ensure training programs lead to measurable outcomes in employment, enterprise growth, and global competitiveness?
REGISTRATION FORM
Ananse Virtual Rountables
Conversations Shaping Africa's Creative Landscape
The conversations within Ananse Virtual Rountables are not simply about what is happening, but why and how it matters. Each session is a deep dive into a specific facet of the creative economy, treating it as a dynamic system ripe for analysis and intervention. We aim to produce not just talking points, but actionable intelligence.
The roundtables are being convened by Ananse Africa in collaboration with the research & advisory partner, Botho Emerging Markets Group and in partnership with African Business.