Local creatives make the case for new economy

Laone Choeunyane | Friday August 28, 2026 10:38

Musicians, filmmakers, fashion designers, dancers, visual artists, digital creators and entrepreneurs gathered for three days of discussions that went beyond celebrating talent to examine the realities of building sustainable creative careers.

Opening the assembly, Minister for State President, Defence and Security, Moeti Mohwasa captured its central argument. “Creativity is indeed the new currency. Our task is to ensure that Batswana are not merely the creators of that currency. They must also be its owners, its entrepreneurs and its beneficiaries,” he said. His remarks pointed to a broader shift in how Botswana must think about its economic future; one shaped not only by natural resources, but by talent, ideas and creativity of its people.

Mohwasa noted that the creative economy already contributes an estimated 5.46 percent to Botswana’s GDP, while it holds further potential for employment and diversification. The challenge, he argued, is moving beyond treating creative work simply as entertainment or cultural expression and recognising it as an economic sector.

The government, he said, has a role in creating the conditions for that growth through policy, finance, skills development, infrastructure and intellectual property protection. The private sector and financial institutions, meanwhile, need to see creatives as entrepreneurs and viable business partners.

The conversations that followed brought together practitioners who have built careers in their respective fields, offering first-hand perspectives on the challenges confronting the creative industries and the strategies they have used to navigate them.

The Music Production and Business session featured Botswana’s Vee Mampeezy alongside South African industry figures Godfrey “Guffy” Pilane and Vusi Leeuw, as well as Mdoovar. Discussions examined the business of music and the realities of turning creative output into sustainable income.

The Film, Podcasting and Content Creation session brought together South African veteran actor Sello Maake kaNcube, Samuel Ngwenya, SCAR and Kennedy Thal, while the Visual Arts and Scenic Painting session featured Prince Tom and Wilson Ngoni.

Fashion and design were also placed under the microscope, with All Kasi and Delayna Scott among those examining the business and creative challenges facing the sector. In the make-up, cosmetics and accessories session, Jessica Molefe and Nora McAslin of Nora Cosmetics brought another perspective on building businesses around creative skills and personal brands.

Dance and choreography received equal attention, with Andrew Kola of Mophato Dance Theatre leading an extended master class alongside other practitioners.

Across the sessions, the emphasis was not simply on the difficulties facing creatives, but on how those difficulties could be overcome. Speakers touched on financial literacy, intellectual property, branding, access to markets, collaboration and the importance of treating creative work as a business.

That emphasis was particularly significant for young people entering industries where talent alone rarely guarantees sustainability. The assembly made the case for pairing creativity with business knowledge, professionalism and an understanding of the value creators generate.

Institutional partners including BBS Bank, COSBOTS, NACB, Brand Botswana and Ba Dikomponi were also part of the discussions, reflecting the need for stronger connections between creatives, finance, industry support and markets.

The assembly ended on a more physical expression of the craft it had spent three days discussing, with a dance showcase at the school grounds led by masters of the discipline.

It was a fitting close to an assembly built around the idea that creativity is more than talent. It is work, enterprise, intellectual property and, ultimately, an asset that creators must learn to own. Botswana has no shortage of creative talent. The bigger challenge is building an ecosystem that allows creators to retain and grow the value generated by their work.

The Creators Assembly put that challenge firmly on the table. Now comes the harder part: turning the conversation into an economy in which Botswana’s creators are not only producing the value, but owning it.