Kenya’s creative economy has received a major boost after Mount Kenya University (MKU) opened a talent academy much to the relief of the many talented students in film, music and drama.

The Cape Media Talent Academy, a partnership between Cape Media group and MKU seeks to help university students hone their skills in content creation. The university will provide the academy with creative content developed by the students allowing those talented to be engaged by the academy in various aspects.

MKU Vice Chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi told students talented in arts to take advantage of the academy to beat joblessness which he attributed to skill mismatch and lack of innovative and creative aspects.

‘In a world where the creative arts industry has gained lots of interest, students need to become innovative and creative to exploit that space,’ said the VC during the launch yesterday.

The Kenya Film Classification Board acting CEO Pascal Opiyo, while launching the academy said the initiative will help addre
ss skill mismatch that has been a hindrance for young people pursuing creative economy careers.

He said the Creative Economy, comprising film, advertising, broadcast and visual arts, ranks among the world’s most rapidly growing sectors, contributing 3% to the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

‘According to statistics published by UNESCO in 2023, the creative economy has created more than 30 million jobs for workers aged 18-25 more than any other field of employment across the world,’ he said.

He added that the country’s 2019 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that the Kenyan film and broadcast industry directly employed 129,824 people in 2019, or about 4.5 percent of the country’s total employed workforce. In the same period, it is estimated that the Kenyan film and audiovisual sectors contributed Sh15 billion to the country’s GDP.

Source: Kenya News Agency