You are a trail-blazer in promoting digital creative industries in Africa. How is the sector evolving?
Africa is an exceptional cultural mosaic, fostered by a young, connected and growing population. With 54 countries and more than 3,000 languages, a historical heritage, unsuspected myths and legends, the socio-cultural landscape of the continent is incomparably rich and varied but totally unknown. We are all able to cite the heroes, characters from Greek, Roman, Nordic, Egyptian mythologies, but sub-African ones are very rare.
Yet Africa abounds in talent, but does not make them bear fruit sufficiently. When it comes to communication, media and entertainment, most experts are categorical: African content has never been more coveted.
However, the problem with much of this "African content" is that it is not produced by Africans. Finally, while the continent should occupy a position of seller, it often finds itself, when it is not a consumer, a simple collaborator in the realization of this famous "African content".
If we take the example of video games, with about 400 million players on the continent, its growth is exponential, driven by the boom of the smartphone. In four years, from 2014 to 2018, it grew by 500%; then estimated at $105 million, it represents almost $570 million today. Ten years ago, studios were counted on the fingers of one hand, today I have managed to reference about 200 of them in my work of mapping the ecosystem.
In the field of animation, many studios across the continent are emerging with projects inspired by the magic of griots, myths and great African characters.
Africans today need stories that speak of African values, African traditions and African cultures. Startups and studios in the digital creative sector have exploded, surfing on this demand but also on a burgeoning market of content for edutainment Edtech.
The sector is indeed rich in terms of value creation and jobs. Africa's challenge. To really develop this potential, the training component will have to be tackled. This is your building site...
Training is, certainly, the key sector of this industry, and the common feature of African studios that succeed in video games (Leti Arts, Kiroo Games, Weza Interactive, Usiku Games ...) in animation (Triggerfish, Lucan, Anthill, Basement CGS3D ...), or Comics (Africomics, the Comic Republic, Vortex 247 ...), it is their founder who usually studied abroad and returned to create his business in the country.
Very few countries have training centers or specific schools dedicated to creative digital professions. These include South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Tunisia.
This has been the great challenge for the success of this digital creative industry in Africa, because few companies offer quality products that can be exported, most developers have basic training, acquired on YouTube tutorials, or in MOOC. Yet, the list of creative digital jobs is very rich, representing several hundred different trades and job opportunities are multiple.
By taking the example of 3D Netinfo based in Tunisia, the first center in French-speaking Africa specialized in training in creative coding and production of 3D computer graphics, we can identify a pilot project that can be replicated in other countries. This is the objective we are pursuing by creating an African network of digital creative education. We hope to be supported by a donor in this phase because we know how to bring young people towards employability and entrepreneurship.
Concretely, what do you recommend for this part of the training?
I sincerely believe that solutions could be found through this close cooperation, collaboration, between African countries. We have spent years experimenting, innovating, looking for the best practical solutions.
We are fortunate to collaborate closely with Europe and North America thanks to many Netinfo Alumni, and foreign studios established in Tunisia. Our programs are compliant with international standards but are adapted to African contexts.
For example, we have launched two projects. One with Autodesk, a 3D design software, and eight African countries in 3D training. 3D, along with Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) will be at the heart of future technologies in multiple sectors and especially in industry 4.0 and the immersive economy and Africa should not miss this crucial phase. Today, we are the only ones in Africa to provide training in the immersive digital professions of the 4.0 industry around 3D, VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality). The other project is based on Epic Games, a video game development and distribution studio based in the USA and 12 African countries, creating the first GameDev training network in the video game industry, with the ambition to accompany our young people towards employability or entrepreneurship. All projects must focus on African history, culture and myths, and those selected will present their work to an international jury in May.
The only limit to this vision is funding, it is the crux of every issue. What we find regrettable is that, despite our success and expertise, it is difficult for us to be supported by donors, foundations, States, because all are focused on other digital professions, forgetting that digital creative industries are the industries of the future. The United Nations reminds us of this by proclaiming 2021 as the International Year of the Creative Economy.