F4D Feature Story
The European Commission and World Bank Join Forces to Strengthen Creative and Cultural Industries in the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Countries
The European Commission and the World Bank join forces to support Creative and Cultural Industries (CCIs) in partnership with the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS).
With a €5 million contribution from the EU, the joint Finance for Development – Competitiveness for Jobs and Economic Transformation (F4D-CJET) program will target the creative sector through improving the business environment, expanding access to markets and connecting SMEs to these markets and enhancing the value chain. It will foster resilient and stable financing mechanisms and enhance access to finance, leveraging World Bank investments. The target countries will include Benin, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Suriname, and one Pacific country, leveraging large-scale public and private investments. The initiative will be implemented in close partnership with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States.
“In the spirit of the EU’s Global Gateway, we strongly believe that creative industries are not only a vector for jobs and growth, in particular for youth, but also play an important role in promoting cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue in our interconnected world. We are looking forward to creating new alliances with the World Bank and the OACPS to support cultural and creative industries value chains.”
— Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships.
“We welcome this unique opportunity to benefit from the multiplier effect of the alliance between the European Commission, the World Bank, and partners for economic growth . The Leaders of the OACPS are strongly committed to creating a conducive environment to promote and expand the implementation of strategies and policies aimed at facilitating investments and interventions by financial institutions, with a particular focus on job creation for women and youth: support of creative industries is an integral component of the OACPS’ Revised Private Sector Development Strategy.”
— Dr. Ibrahim Norbert Richard, Assistant Secretary-General, OACPS Secretariat.
The creative economy is one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors. The cultural and creative industries (CCIs), encompassing a wide range of industries that build on the interplay between human creativity, cultural assets, intellectual property, and technology, have become major drivers of economies and trade, representing more than 3 % of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and accounting for 6.2 percent of all employment. Moreover, cultural and creative industries do not only create growth and jobs, but also contribute to human development. While there is an enormous potential of artistic and creative talent, the potential for the sector’s economic revenue and growth remains largely untapped.
“The strategic partnership with the European Commission and the Organization of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States acknowledge the vital role of culture in the fabric of the ACP economies and for elevating the creative sectors to a prominent position on the development agenda. We are thrilled to collaborate with the EC, OACPS and other development partners to unlock access to finance for MSMEs in the most vulnerable countries, mobilizing large-scale public and private capital investments."
— Jean Pesme, Global Director for Finance at the World Bank's Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Practice.
“Acknowledging the crucial role of jobs in enhancing economic opportunities, the European Commission and the World Bank are poised to help boost the role of the private sector through the C-JET Umbrella Trust Fund. This will be achieved by helping design and implement strategic policy measures through the provision of analytics and technical assistance with a specific emphasis on supporting creative and cultural industries.”
— Mona Haddad, Global Director for Trade, Investment and Competitiveness at the World Bank's Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Practice.
About the EU’s Cultural and Creative Industries Financing Initiative (CreatiFI): The €20 million CreatiFI programme aims to support the cultural and creative industries in accessing equity and debt finance in order to strengthen the sector’s contribution to sustainable socio-economic development in the countries belonging to the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States. In particular, the programme seeks to improve access to finance for micro, small and medium sized enterprises in the sector through better-tailored offer of financial institutions’ products and services, mobilisation of additional public and private financial resources, improved capacities of local financial institutions and CCI entrepreneurs, and improved evidence and knowledge of the CCI systems, value chains and creative clusters.
About Finance for Development (F4D): The Finance for Development (F4D) is the World Bank's donor financing, knowledge, and partnership platform, aimed at helping low- and middle-income countries develop deep, inclusive, efficient, and resilient financial systems. The program focuses on four thematic pillars, including (1) Strengthening Financial Sector Resiliency; (2) Financing the Poor and Vulnerable; (3) Financing the Real Economy; and (4) Developing Financial Markets, with digital, climate and gender as key cross-cutting themes. F4D is supported by the Austrian Ministry of Finance, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Commission, Global Affairs Canada, and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
About Competitiveness for Jobs and Economic Transformation (CJET): The Competitiveness for Jobs & Economic Transformation (C-JET) Umbrella Trust Fund is a global partnership facility that helps foster the economic transformation needed to enable better jobs for more women and men, sustainably and at scale. It will focus on the enabling conditions and programs that promote the entry and growth of competitive firms and sectors as drivers of better jobs.