WeeklySA_AdminEmploy: The future of African entertainment looks bright and will create many employment opportunities especially in South Africa
By Isaac Moledi
The creative industry on the African Continent is undergoing a digital revolution, with South African television entertainment streaming services such as Showmax, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ , disrupting the traditional business model South Africans have used for many years.
According to Afreximbank’s African Trade Report, African creativity is taking its rightful prominent place on the global stage with the Continent’s creative arts industry steadily growing – driven by rich cultural diversity, a youthful population and increasing international interest in African art, music, fashion, film and literature.
The report by Afreximbank (the African Export-Import bank) cites a R1.102 trillion contribution generated by creative industries in Africa and the Middle East, with almost 7% of South Africa’s total workforce employed in the sector.
As part of this, the report believes that the multibillion-dollar global animation industry offers tremendous employment opportunities encompassing a wide range of animation from feature films to TV shows, video games and online content.
In recent years, the industry has experienced significant growth, driven by the popularity of animated content from major international studios such as Triggerfish Animation Studios, Disney,
Pixar, DreamWorks Animation and Studio Ghibli.Rich cultural diversity, a youthful population, and increasing international interest in African art, music, fashion, film and literature also helped to create an exciting value proposition for expanding global streaming platforms into Africa.
“The power of these services is immense. These platforms boast impressive content rosters and allow users to curate their content list, watching as and when they please, without repeats or interruptions. Additionally, users seek localised content that sees Africans tell African stories. This is a clear indication that African content is in high demand globally,” according to the Afreximbank report.
Unlike the rest of the world, the report says Africa is experiencing a positive population growth rate and boasts the largest emerging youth population in the world, as digital natives redefines how entertainment is packaged and consumed.
The report says the growing demand for localised content has created an opportunity for growth. Responding to this, Honoris United Universities announced the Animation School in South Africa as its latest addition to its group.
Renowned as one of the global leaders in animation training, the Animation School (TAS) in South Africa is expected to join Honoris United Universities in cultivating the creative trailblazers of tomorrow in one of the fastest-growing sectors on the continent.
Based in Cape Town and Johannesburg, TAS opened its doors in 2000 and has established itself as a leading source of specialist animation education, ranked 12th in the world by the Animation Career Review website in 2023. TAS alumni go on to varying roles, including animators, lighting artists, modellers, compositors, directors, studio owners and more, supported by a team of faculty who are working professionals from the industry.
“The future of African entertainment looks bright and will create many employment opportunities for skilled professionals.
This is especially enticing for South Africa, which faces a severe unemployment crisis, according to Afreximbank, established in Nigeria in 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors.
The trade finance bank for African countries believes that employer partnerships with global industry leaders, including Triggerfish Animation Studios and many others, reinforce opportunities for students to gain work-ready training and support employability initiatives for a successful career transition.
The Animation School has partnered with Netflix for the past two years to provide a three-year scholarship to two talented students to boost opportunities for graduates on the continent further. This shows that streaming services are committed to promoting the production of localised content.
Whilst TAS students already perform internationally, aligning with the power of the network, Honoris United Universities will showcase South African artists’ talent, vision and masterful storytelling. Honoris will support its pan-African growth plans to expand access to high-growth employability sectors whilst focusing on investment in academic excellence, learning environments, support services and faculty development.
Honoris Group CEO, Dr. Jonathan Louw believes the inclusion of TAS into the Honoris network is a significant announcement for both esteemed organizations. “I eagerly look forward to expanding the footprint of The Animation School to empower the visionaries of tomorrow, providing them with unparalleled opportunities to excel in the dynamic field of animation.”
Nuno Martins, Director, Co-Founder and Principal of The Animation School, added: “Studios across the globe are increasingly turning their attention to Africa, as the wealth of creative expertise garners global attention. We passionately believe in the power of Africa’s youth and the growth arising from exposure to different cultures and mindsets, all the more important in our creative sector.”
TAS becomes the fifth Honoris institution in South Africa alongside Mancosa, Regent Business School, Red and Yellow Creative School of Business and FEDISA Fashion School.
