At this month’s SoCreative Summit 2024, the British Council (www.BritishCouncil.org) unveiled its new eLearning platform, SoCreative. This platform offers free online courses to help aspiring African entrepreneurs grow sustainable creative businesses.
The fifth edition of the popular SoCreative Summit, hosted by the British Council and Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) in partnership with PACE, took place at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg. The Summit, a no-cost event, brought together cultural makers, artists, fashion designers, and creatives both in-person and virtually. It served as a platform to nurture innovation and promote Africa’s creative economy.
The launch of the SoCreative eLearning platform marks the culmination of the annual SoCreative Summit series. Farai Bayai Ncube, Regional Arts Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at the British Council, explained: “This final summit’s theme, ‘Emergence’, reflects the dedication and creativity of our delegates and partners over the past five years. Our SoCreative eLearning programme, like the summit, is free to those seeking knowledge.”
The SoCreative eLearning programme was developed by academic practitioners from Africa and the UK and aims to address gaps in creative business knowledge. “The challenges facing creative entrepreneurs have been highlighted in previous summits and through conversations with our stakeholders. This platform addresses these gaps, fostering an ecosystem where young entrepreneurs can thrive,” Ncube added.
The SoCreative eLearning platform targets early-stage entrepreneurs looking to turn their creative passions into sustainable businesses. The self-paced courses cover topics such as Africa’s creative industry, market identification, business differentiation, investor relations, and business management. Courses include: Launching your Creative Enterprise, Growing your Creative Enterprise, Social Impact through Entrepreneurship, and Creative Economy Policy.
Participants who complete the programme will receive a certificate of achievement, making them eligible for ongoing support through mentoring, coaching, incubation, and acceleration programs via the British Council’s network in participating countries.
Skinder Hundal, Global Arts Director at the British Council, remarked: “Though this may be the final summit in this format, we will continue to create platforms that empower young people to lead innovation, become visionaries, and shape their futures. This investment and collaboration will inspire future global leaders, positively impacting Africa and the world.”
Register for the SoCreative courses here: SoCreative Courses Registration
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Roxanne Manning
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About the British Council:
The British Council is the UK’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We connect people worldwide through arts, culture, education, and the English language. In 2019-2020, we reached over 75 million people directly and 758 million people overall through online, broadcast, and publications. Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body, receiving 14.5% of our core funding from the UK government. www.BritishCouncil.org
