It’s Time To Invest in Kenya’s Creative Startups
I was at the Afrika Handmade gallery yesterday at Alliance Francaise. On show were locally made interior and garden crafts. Artefacts ranging from clay crockery to lighting fixtures made from baobab to garden furniture. All locally designed and made from local materials. These are beautiful, high quality products. Sadly photos were not allowed for most of the installation, but below are pictures of the Moja Living Pod (a prefabricated fully mobile unit that can be used as a home or studio).
For me this show was like a big gong- the time has come to begin investing in creative startups. A good number of them exist, as manifested in this show and the rising number of pop-up shops, weekend fairs and exhibitions. They are viable. They are revenue positive. These aren’t fluffy pie-in-the sky ideas. They are real. In crafts, fashion, cosmetics. Intermediaries like Craft Afrika, Heva, Mettā and Creatives Garage are already supporting them. But there is need for a concerted effort to direct capital their way. Capital and management capacity.
Why bother?
Because since these businesses all make their products from locally sourced raw materials and work with local talent, they have genuine impact on the economy. Everyone in the supply chain gains. And that’s mostly farmers and crafts-people. In this way, from the macro perspective of economic development, the sector has real impact. The rural + urban kind of impact that’s sustainable and all that. SDGs and all.
On the other end, consumers get to derive value from beautiful, world-class functional products, made in Kenya. I mean consumers in Kenya and beyond. Because the world is our market. Also, by investing in our creative startups we build our collective cultural identity. Local artists create artefacts that lead us to participate in our own culture. Culture that we should be confident about. Because art produced by local people is a reflection of us as society and makes us better by causing us to introspect.
In conclusion
Despite appearances (talk-shop fatigue), the ‘creative economy’ is not just another buzzword…it is here and very real, manifested in these startups.
Whomever sees the clouds gathering and invests now will win in the long-run.
A good way to start this journey is by asking: What do creative entrepreneurs need? With the entrepreneur in mind, how can we craft ways to incubate and accelerate their businesses?
