MIAF and Goethe-Institut release Southern Africa CCI report 

The publication of the report forms part of the conclusion of the Sound Connects Fund (SCF), a multifaceted initiative aiming to develop cultural projects in nine Southern African countries, namely Angola, Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The CCI report provides insightful information about the cultural and creative sector in the aforementioned countries. It suggests possible interventions to develop the CCIs in order to empower individual practitioners and organisations that are actively engaged in fields such as music, film, dance, animation, gaming, broadcasting, events, education and cultural management, among others.

Report highlights

The report is based on previously available data and detailed surveys with sector practitioners and government representatives. It identifies the key policies and legal frameworks that have been put in place across all nine countries, broaching subjects such as CCI funding, CCI professionalisation, legislation, public support, intellectual property rights and freedom of expression.

Unsurprisingly, the report confirms the endemic challenges experienced in the Southern African CCIs, which, in their current state, are largely underdeveloped, requiring bolstered support and concerted advocacy efforts. Some of the challenges unpacked in the report are a lack of transparency, funding structures, industry-specific data, policy formulation and ratification, access to technology, and effective communication mechanisms.

Music In Africa Foundation executive director Eddie Hatitye said: “The end of the Sound Connects Fund is a good opportunity for players in the Southern African CCIs to regroup and demand for important changes in their industries. Through the implementation of the fund, we got a chance to get up close and personal with the biggest challenges that CCI organisations are grappling with at the moment.

“These experiences were recorded, processed and interpreted for this report, which can serve as an updated roadmap about the next steps we need to take if we want our cultural and creative practitioners to do well in their respective fields. We encourage all stakeholders working in the Southern African and African CCIs to employ this report in their strategic efforts towards a prosperous industry defined by more collaborative work and export opportunities for their creative goods.”

The Sound Connects Fund was implemented over 40 months to professionalise, capacitate and provide funding opportunities to 36 CCI organisations in Southern Africa. Apart from funding, the initiative upskilled the grantees through annual networking events and the Sound Connects Academy – a learning platform that was developed to facilitate sessions on a series of industry-related subjects. The Sound Connects Fund also hosted the 2024 Sound Connects Conference in Maputo, Mozambique, where cultural professionals gathered to network, take part in engaging panel discussions and learn about the funded projects.

The CCI report has been published alongside a sibling Sound Connects Fund report about the work of the 36 funded organisations. That report also includes a section on the learnings from the organisations’ implemented projects

Read and download the two reports via the Sound Connects Fund website.

The Sound Connects Fund was made possible with funding from the ACP-EU Culture programme, a project implemented by the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU).