Kenya’s creative economy presents economic and cultural opportunities that require development. Though statistics may be highly truncated due to significant data gaps, the Economic Survey 2023 reveals that the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry accounts for 0.2 percent of GDP and 0.25 of total wage employment.
The 2009 study on the economic contribution of copyright-based industries in Kenya established that the contribution to GDP for the copyright-based industry in Kenya as of 2007 was 5.32 percent, accounting for Sh85.21 billion value added and employing more than 300,000 persons directly.
Businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector have, as established in Kenya’s 2016 MSME survey, the highest average life (of 10.1 years) when compared to businesses in other industrial sectors. Those operating informally have a higher business lifespan of 34.9 years.
Businesses in the arts, entertainment and recreation are highly specialised in terms of knowledge, skill, and capacity and are in effect more likely to be self-employed.
Cultural centres, heritage sites and museums located around the country are central to the nurturing, protection, and promotion of culture and heritage. They present the creative diversity of Kenyan art, crafts, toys, architecture, stories, music and traditions.
MSMEs in arts, entertainment and recreation are constrained by various aspects including licensing, access to appropriate infrastructure and to appropriate finance.
The draft National Film Policy identifies multiplicity in the licensing framework among the challenges within Kenya’s film industry.
Inconsistent or arbitrary licensing and charges can dampen investments in creative industries.
In recognition of the infrastructural inefficiencies, the 2021 National Policy on Culture and Heritage calls for the strengthening of national cultural centres by the national government while the county governments are to establish and maintain community cultural centres.
Access to finance is a challenge faced by 41 percent of MSMEs, which for creative industries is aggravated by inadequate collateral which is cited as among the major impediments in accessing credit.
There is a need to provide efficient licensing, appropriate creative infrastructure, and enhanced access to appropriate and affordable financial services to promote creative and cultural industries.
Relevant policy reform priorities therefore include the development of well-designed appropriate modern creative infrastructure and propriate financing products and mechanisms for creatives. Operationalisation of the draft film policy and creative economy policy is key.
On the legislative front, of priority is the review of IP laws to facilitate IP-backed financing; the fast-tracking of the Heritage and Museums Bill, 2023 to provide clarity on the role of the national and county government in documenting and preserving culture and heritage; and, the review of licensing framework to establish harmonisation and rationalisation of licenses.
The author is a senior policy analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
