Creative sector could be worth billions
Namibia’s fragmented creative industries could collectively be worth billions of dollars, but the absence of reliable data has made it difficult to measure the sector’s true economic contribution, according to Creative Industry Institute Africa (CIIA) co-founder Joel Haikali. Haikali made the remarks during the launch of the Creative Industry Guide 2026/2027 National Mapping Campaign in... The post Creative sector could be worth billions appeared first on New Era .
Namibia’s fragmented creative industries could collectively be worth billions of dollars, but the absence of reliable data has made it difficult to measure the sector’s true economic contribution, according to Creative Industry Institute Africa (CIIA) co-founder Joel Haikali.
Haikali made the remarks during the launch of the Creative Industry Guide 2026/2027 National Mapping Campaign in Windhoek on Tuesday, where Government and industry leaders called for a comprehensive picture of Namibia’s creative economy.
“If you add the turnover of film, music and craft together, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s in billions,” Haikali said.
He said the creative sector’s fragmented nature had made it difficult to demonstrate its collective economic value, despite thousands of people earning livelihoods across disciplines including music, film, fashion, design, crafts and visual arts.
“The creative sector is so fragmented. One is doing music, they film there, but we’re never able to add it together. There was never really a question of how, if you add the turnover of film, and music, and craft together,” Haikali said.
He said the mapping campaign was intended to close that information gap by identifying creative entrepreneurs, employees, employers and freelancers across the country.
