Creative Industries (CI) use culture and creativity as the main inputs to produce functional outputs with commercial value. They have a multidimensional development impact and directly contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. The global Creative Industries sector generates nearly $2.25 trillion/year (UNESCO) and represent up to 2-7% of GDP where they are most developed and provides employment to 29.5 million people globally, especially for youth and women (largest global industry employing youth). Creator economy is the driver of a new generation of innovators, redefining industries like fashion, finance, technology, entertainment, food, wellness, social good. 

Topics:

The webinar will focus on the role financial institutions can play in scaling access to financial services and skills for SMES involved in creative industry segments. It will showcase the CI opportunity for banks and present flagship initiatives implemented in LAC, Europe, Africa and Asia.

The key topics to be discussed are:

1. Global trends in creative industries: market size, verticals and impact

2. CI as a commercial opportunity for banks in emerging markets

3. CI incubator and VC

5. The role of governments promoting CI

6. Flagship initiatives: LAC, Europe, Africa and Asia

7. IFC’s role: bank derisking and SME pre-investment support

Resources:

Creative industries at IFC -  https://www.ifc.org/en/what-we-do/sector-expertise/creative-industries

Creative Economy Outlook 2024 - UNCTAD Report UNCTAD_Creative Industry Outlook 2024

Creative Development with IFC: Podcast, hosted by Makhtar Diop, Managing Director - https://www.ifc.org/en/podcasts/creative-development

Speakers:

Opening remarks:

German Cufre, Global Manager, Digital Infrastructure Investments and Creative Industries, IFC

German Cufre joined IFC in 2006 and has been part of the investment team focused on telecommunications infrastructure since 2008. Currently responsible for overseeing IFC’s US$1.4 billion annual investment program in emerging markets across all telecom infrastructure subsectors including broadband, data centers, small cells and DAS, independent tower operators, IoT, TESCO and mobile operators. German also leads IFC’s program on Creative Industries, encompassing investments in Audio-Visual verticals, Fashion Design and banking to the Creative Sector, among others.

Prior to IFC, German led an acquisitions turnaround team at a distressed asset fund out of Argentina and worked as a strategy/ turnaround consultant with Booz Allen & Hamilton based in Chicago (USA), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Buenos Aires (Argentina).

German holds a BA from Universidad de San Andres and an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Moderator:

Karla Diaz Clarke, Investment Officer, Digital Infrastructure, Creative Industries and Infratech, IFC

Karla Diaz Clarke is a global investment professional at IFC, specializing in telecommunications, technology, and creative industries. She has extensive experience driving high-impact investments and advisory solutions across multiple regions, including Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

For the past five years, Karla has focused on identifying investment opportunities in the telecommunications, technology, and creative industries sectors, with a particular emphasis on scaling digital infrastructure and supporting content and media businesses. She has played a key role in advancing IFC’s investments in the creative industries, fostering industry growth and positioning African and Latin American creative sectors on the global stage.

Previously at IFC, she designed, implemented, and oversaw advisory programs for sustainable investments in infrastructure in emerging markets. Her work supported both private-sector clients and governments in unlocking capital for digital and creative economies.

Before joining IFC, Karla worked in telecommunications consulting at Ernst & Young and Deloitte in Peru and Brazil, advising companies on strategic growth and market expansion. She also advised companies in the oil sector in England and France and served as an advisor to Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade.

Karla holds an MBA from HEC Paris and the University of Western Ontario (IVEY) and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Lima. A Peruvian national, she is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, with basic proficiency in Italian.  

CI opportunity landscape:

John Newbigin OBE, Chair, Global Creative Economy Council

John Newbigin OBE has worked in the film, television and theatre industries. As Special Advisor to the UK Minister for Culture he was at the centre of the team that developed the world’s first definition and valuation of the creative industries, adopted by the UK government in 1998.  He was co-founder and first Chair of Creative England and for five years was Chair of the British Council’s Advisory Board for Arts and Creative Economy.  He is  a member of the International Steering Committee of the World Conference on Creative Economy and is the Mayor of London’s Ambassador for the creative industries.   He is Chair of the Global Creative Economy Council and of the Counterculture Partnership. He is a Visiting Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London.

CI and in Africa:

Osahon Akpata, Head, CANEX Creations Inc., African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)

Osahon Akpata is a pan-African banker, writer and producer with experience in management consulting, business development and strategic partnerships. He is Head, CANEX Creations Inc., a division at Afreximbank that focuses on intellectual property investments in creative industries across Africa.

Prior to joining Afreximbank, Osahon led the small and medium sized enterprise (SME), retail payments, and strategic partnerships units at Ecobank Group, across its 33-country network in Africa. Previously, he led the implementation practice at McKinsey & Company, collaborating with executives across sectors. His advisory firm supported successful projects in film & television, publishing, music and the visual arts. A published author since age 11, Osahon's work has appeared in Essence, Forbes, Vogue Italia and other media outlets.

Osahon holds an MBA in Media Management from Columbia University and a Diploma in Documentary Filmmaking from Sundance Collab. 

CI Incubator:

Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, Founder and CEO, Birimian Ventures

Laureen Kouassi-Olsson is the Founder and CEO of Birimian Holding, and Birimian Ventures, financial institutions dedicated to the sustainable development of African heritage Brands.

With key strategic partnerships with institutions such as Institut Français de la Mode (French Fashion Institute), Orange Bank Africa, International Finance Corporation (IFC, subsidiary of the World Bank) and a network of prominent private investors, Birimian has established itself as the leading financial institution supporting African heritage brands having accelerated and financed 45 fashion businesses and entrepreneurs since inception.

She is a seasoned executive in the African financial services and private equity industries.

She has over a decade of experience in investing in private companies and financial institutions on the African Continent. Her professional achievements and milestones have gained significant recognition internationally. Mrs Kouassi-Olsson is identified as one of the 100 most influential African Economic Leaders and as one of the shapers of the african fashion industry - by promoting financial innovation as a key catalyst – as per her ranking in the prestigious Business of Fashion 500 and Vogue 100 rankings of most influential leaders of the fashion industry worldwide.

Mrs Kouassi-Olsson is the author of Iconic Africa, released in September 2023, advocating for the transformation of the african creativity into an economic powerhouse. She is an alumna of Harvard Business School and EM Lyon Business School and is a citizen of Côte d’Ivoire and France.

CI and government derisking intervention:

Yona Panazol, French Touch Mission Officer, Creative Industries Division, Bpifrance (French Public Investment Bank)

Yona Panazol coordinates the activities related to the sectors of cultural and creative industries for Bpifrance, the French public investment bank. She is a mission officer for the French Touch initiative, a financing and investing continuum and a collective movement created to build and support a cross-cutting vision of the future of French cultural and creative industries, which also helps connect French companies with international partners, fostering global collaborations.

Ange Michael AHYI, Senior African Project Manager, EuroQuity (Tech & Venture Capital ecosystem building)

Ange Michaël AHYI is responsible for developing and managing tech ecosystem building projects in Africa, specifically in countries like Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, or South Africa. His role is to facilitate matchmaking opportunities between startups, investors, and business support structures in these regions.

Ange plays a crucial role in helping international venture capital investors find qualified deal flow in Africa, assisting African startups in becoming investment ready, and fostering connections between African innovation players and European and international tech hubs.

In addition to his work at Bpifrance, Ange has also founded "Passion & Creator", a media platform dedicated to uncover business trends and dynamics in the media and entertainment industries in Europe, Africa, and beyond.

Ange graduated from the ESCP Business School.

CI: IFC proposition:

Karla Diaz Clarke, Investment Officer, Digital Infrastructure, Creative Industries and Infratech, IFC

Hosted by:

        Qamar Saleem, Global Head of The SME Finance Forum

Qamar Saleem leads the world’s most prominent SME Finance center for knowledge exchange, solution building, innovation, best practice transfer and public-private dialogue. Prior to this role, Qamar was heading Financial Institutions Group Advisory      Services for Asia and Pacific aimed at providing integrated investment/advisory client solutions across MSME finance, Gender, Climate, Digital, Housing, Trade, and Supply Chain Finance. Qamar has been with IFC since 2012 and had also served as global technical lead for SME and Supply Chain Finance. Qamar has 30+ years of global financial services experience having worked across 80+ countries, advised more than 300 financial institutions internationally in scaling SME Finance. Prior to joining IFC, Qamar was associated with international organizations like HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank as well as large regional banks while serving in several emerging markets and had launched numerous new business lines, including SME banking, in his banking career.   

Organizer: 

The SME Finance Forum (SMEFF) is a network of 300+ members and affiliates with a coverage spanning across 190+ countries. The members are primarily financial services providers such as banks, fintechs, non-bank financial institutions, development finance institutions, credit guarantee companies, and microfinance institutions. The affiliates consist of policy advocacy groups, academia, SME and banking associations, training providers, and non-profit organizations.  

SMEFF was established in 2012 by the G20 and is managed by the International Finance Corporation with a core objective to scale financial services for SMEs.  

As the leading SME finance network globally, the forum steers industry innovations, supports replication of best practices, recognizes global champions, drives thought leadership, convenes influential stakeholders, and fosters global knowledge transfer.   

*This is a public webinar