The KASA Africa Academy of Creative Excellence has held the maiden edition of its Creative Entrepreneurship Fellowship (CEF), aimed at equipping young creatives and aspiring entrepreneurs with the business skills, structures and mindset required to build sustainable and profitable enterprises.
The fellowship, which ran from June 30 to July 4 at Bazal Art Studios at East Legon in Accra, ended with an Impact Awards and Certification Ceremony and a networking cocktail to encourage collaboration among participants.
The academy, a creative education and entrepreneurship institution, seeks to empower Africa's next generation of creatives with practical skills, business knowledge, mentorship and leadership development to enable them to establish businesses, create jobs and drive innovation in the creative economy.
The maiden fellowship brought together 27 participants from various creative disciplines, including photography, fashion, graphic design, event planning and writing, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs, with one international participant from Gabon.
Initiative
At the closing ceremony, the Founder of KASA Africa Academy of Creative Excellence, Lawrencia Bazal Darko, said the initiative was established after she realised that talent alone was insufficient to build a successful business.
She explained that many creatives possessed exceptional artistic abilities but lacked the business knowledge needed to grow and sustain their ventures.
"Talent alone is not enough, passion alone is not enough. You need the systems, you need the structures and you need the knowledge to be able to grow into a profitable business," she said.
Ms Darko, who is also a lawyer and founder of Babies by Bazal, said her vision was to change the perception that meaningful employment could only be found in white-collar jobs.
She said creative careers should no longer be viewed as alternatives for those who had not excelled academically, adding that the creative industry offered viable career and business opportunities.
Ms Darko said following the positive response to the inaugural fellowship, the academy was considering organising the programme more frequently than initially planned, adding that although the fellowship was conceived as an annual programme, the academy intended to organise webinars and shorter training sessions to sustain participants' learning and mentorship between editions.
Business structures
A business coach and facilitator for the fellowship, Dr Boahemaa Ntim, said many young entrepreneurs failed because they concentrated on their ideas without paying attention to business structures and research.
She advised participants to establish sound business systems, keep proper records and seek mentorship to improve their chances of success.
"If you are a creative or somebody who has an idea but you do not have the capacity to turn it into a profitable business then there's no point," she said.
She further encouraged young entrepreneurs to start small, build gradually and seek the guidance of experienced business coaches.
"Take it slowly, start small, build gradually and then scale once the structure is right," she advised.
Award winners
The ceremony recognised outstanding participants for their business ideas and performance during the fellowship.
Portia Kwarteng, Chief Executive Officer of Myrtle Services, emerged as the overall winner for the Best Business Plan and received a cash prize of GH¢2,500.
Expressing her appreciation, she said the fellowship had deepened her understanding of business development and exposed her to areas such as financing, legal structures and operational systems.
