Report: Investing in Women-led Creative Enterprises Will Create Jobs, Boost Growth across Africa

Emma Okonji

As the world celebrates 2026 International Women’s Day (IWD), Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has stressed the need for investment in women-led creative enterprise to boost job creation and growth across Africa.

BCG said Africa’s creative industry, spanning fashion, design, music, film and digital content, valued at $59 billion, is a growing market, but still underexploited.

BCG said this in its latest report themed: ‘Africa’s Next Growth Frontier-Empowering Women in the Creative Industries’, where it explained the need for Africa to scale up her creative economy, in order to unlock substantial economic value and export growth, with women at the forefront of creation, innovation and entrepreneurship.

“While Africa’s creative economy is currently valued at around $59 billion, representing under-three per cent of the $2 trillion global creative sector, the opportunity ahead is substantial. Doubling Africa’s share to six per cent by 2030 could lift creative exports to between $150 and $160 billion, catalysing broad-based economic transformation,” the report said.  

According to the report, Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest growing population, with nearly 890 million people under the age of 25.

Against this backdrop, the report further said that Africa’s growth narrative is shifting from a reliance on extractive industries to a creativity led economy in which women play a central role.   

The report highlighted four mutually reinforcing growth engines reshaping Africa’s creative economy and accelerating its trajectory to include: digital acceleration; cultural Intellectual Property (IP); the global diaspora, and the continent’s young and growing population.

The identified forces, according to the report, are expanding market reach, enabling new business models, and increasing global demand for African creative products and experiences, with women playing central roles across value chains. 

According to the report, the four growth drivers are converging in powerful ways. A youthful population is creating a large, dynamic base of creators and consumers. Rapid smartphone adoption and improved broadband access have enabled 300 to 400 million Africans (about 40 per cent of the population) to actively engage with social media, giving creators direct access to global audiences.   

This, the report further said, would be amplified by a unique tapestry of cultural intellectual property, brought to life through Africa’s rich design, storytelling, and aesthetic traditions that are making waves internationally.

Giving details of the report, Managing Director and Senior Partner/Head of BCG Africa, Lisa Ivers, said:  “Africa has long been celebrated for its abundant natural resources, holding over 30 per cent of the world’s mineral reserves. Yet, despite this wealth, much of the value has historically been lost to minimal local processing and exports of raw materials. Unlike extractive industries, Africa’s creative economy offers a model rooted in agency, innovation, and shared prosperity. We are witnessing a shift in how value is created, distributed, and experienced. Women-led creative businesses are generating jobs, building resilient local supply chains, and reinvesting in their communities, making them central to Africa’s transformation story.”

Managing Director and Partner at BCG, Zineb Sqalli, said: “Notably, fashion stands out as a powerhouse within this sector, with women currently comprising over 60 per cent of Africa’s fashion workforce.”

“The fashion and design industry, valued at $31 billion, spans the entire value chain, from cotton production to finished garments. The continent is also a leader in circular fashion, with over 40 per cent of textile output involving recycling or upcycling, and brands adopting regenerative materials seeing substantial profit increases. Importantly, the creative segments where design, branding, and cultural expression are concentrated, account for the majority of this value and surpass upstream manufacturing in profitability and global relevance, the report further said.   

It however explained that despite the momentum, women-led creative businesses remained drastically under-capitalised, while citing the African Development Bank (ADB), which had said that with adequate investment, Africa’s fashion industry alone has the potential to contribute as much as $50 billion to GDP and create around 400,000 new jobs in sub-Saharan Africa.  

“Investing in women in the creative economy is a high‑return, data-backed business opportunity. By combining targeted financing with skills development and market access, we unlock an asset class capable of driving exports, creating formal jobs, and accelerating Africa’s shift from resource‑based to creativity‑led growth,” the report added.