- African storytelling is an economic asset, with the potential to create jobs, businesses and investment beyond the entertainment sector.
- Shaka iLembe demonstrates the wider economic impact of local content, reportedly creating more than 9,000 jobs across production and supporting industries.
- One story can generate an entire supply chain, benefiting filmmakers, actors, designers, hospitality businesses, transport providers, tourism operators and other small businesses.
- Ownership of intellectual property is critical if African creators are to capture more of the commercial value generated by their stories and creative work.
- Africa’s creative economy can become a major source of growth, but requires investment, infrastructure, skills, partnerships and business models that allow African creativity to scale on its own terms. *
For too long, Africa has treated its stories as cultural treasures rather than economic assets. We celebrate our history, music, film and creativity, yet too often fail to ask the harder question: who owns these stories, who profits from them, and how many livelihoods can they create?
That needs to change. African storytelling is not simply about representation or preserving culture; it is an economic opportunity. The success of productions such as Shaka iLembe shows what happens when an African story is backed by local talent, investment and production capability can create jobs and stimulate activities across sectors far beyond entertainment.
Its first season reportedly created more than 9 000 jobs across areas including acting, filmmaking, technical production, catering, transport, construction and accommodation.
The real opportunity, then, is bigger than producing more African content. It is building an economy around African creativity, one where filmmakers, writers, musicians, designers, entrepreneurs and the businesses that support them are not merely telling stories, but owning intellectual property, creating enterprises and capturing value from the stories they create.
One story can become a supply chain
The economic potential becomes clearer when we stop viewing a production as a finished product and start seeing it as an ecosystem.
A major film or television project can create demand for actors, writers, technicians, caterers, transport providers, construction teams, accommodation businesses and tourism operators. Shaka iLembe demonstrates how a single African narrative can move economic activity through multiple sectors, with its wider impact extending into tourism and hospitality.
This is the real power of the creative economy: one story can become a supply chain.
A production can put a local designer to work, give an emerging filmmaker valuable experience, fill hotel rooms, bring visitors to a historical site and create opportunities for small businesses that would otherwise remain outside major economic value chains.
This means the creative sector should not be treated as an afterthought to economic development. It can be a platform where talent, entrepreneurship and commercial opportunity intersect.
From representation to ownership
But Africa cannot fully unlock this potential if its creators remain disconnected from ownership and investment.
South Africa has no shortage of filmmakers, writers, actors, photographers, musicians and creative entrepreneurs. The opportunity lies in bringing these capabilities together and creating the infrastructure, partnerships and investment needed to turn individual talent into sustainable creative industries.
That requires us to change the way we talk about creative success.
When an African film succeeds, the conversation should not end with ratings, awards or international recognition. We should be asking how many local businesses participated, how many jobs were created, what intellectual property was developed and who ultimately benefited from the commercial value generated.
Representation without ownership is not enough
Seeing African people on screen matters, but so does determining who writes the story, who produces it, who owns the intellectual property and who benefits when that story travels beyond our borders.
African stories should not have to become less African to become globally relevant. Authenticity comes from understanding the people, histories and environments behind a narrative rather than simply placing African faces into externally defined stories.
Shaka iLembe is important precisely because it demonstrates that a story rooted in South African history, culture and identity can reach audiences beyond the country when supported by local talent, investment and production excellence.
We need to stop treating creativity as a hobby
Another barrier is the way creative work is often perceived. A filmmaker is not simply an artist. They can be an employer, entrepreneur and intellectual property owner. A fashion designer is not simply creating clothes. They are building a brand.
A musician is not simply producing songs. They are creating intellectual property that can generate value across multiple platforms. A digital creator is not simply making content. They are building an audience that can become a commercial ecosystem.
This shift in thinking matters, particularly for young people seeking meaningful economic opportunities. Talent alone is not enough. Creatives need access to markets, capital, skills, infrastructure and networks that allow them to turn their abilities into sustainable enterprises.
If we are serious about employment, entrepreneurship and economic participation, the creative economy must be part of that conversation.
Africa’s next export could be its stories
Africa possesses an extraordinary creative resource in its languages, histories, music, fashion, traditions and contemporary experiences.
The opportunity is to build industries around these assets without stripping them of their authenticity.
A story can become a film. A film can generate tourism. A character can become intellectual property. A soundtrack can create opportunities for musicians and producers. A production can create contracts for small businesses. A cultural experience can become a tourism offering.
This is what it means to view African storytelling as creative currency.
The objective should not simply be to produce more content. It should be to create an ecosystem in which African creativity generates sustained economic value for the people and businesses behind it.
That requires greater collaboration between production houses, independent creatives, brands, broadcasters, investors and businesses. Rather than competing for limited opportunities, the sector needs to develop partnerships capable of creating larger, more sustainable projects and value chains.
The question is who captures the value
The success of Shaka iLembe should therefore be viewed as more than a television achievement. It is a reminder of what becomes possible when African stories are supported by African talent, investment and ambition.
But celebrating one successful production is not enough.
The bigger challenge is to build an industry where such success is repeatable — where African creators can develop intellectual property, employ other Africans, build businesses and compete for audiences beyond the continent without surrendering ownership of the stories that made them visible.
When we own the narrative, we can create much more than entertainment. We can create jobs, build industries, support tourism, develop talent and grow businesses.
Africa does not need permission to tell its stories.
What it needs is the confidence to invest in them, the infrastructure to scale them and the ownership structures that allow the value they generate to remain within the creative ecosystems that produce them.
The question is no longer whether African stories can travel.
The question is whether we are ready to tell them, invest in them and build businesses around them on our own terms.
* Summary created by AI
Samba Jorge is founder of Life Inspiring Autonomous Motion.
