Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere, but understanding is scarce. The challenge lies in a lack of context, capacity and people who know how to use AI not just to create content, but to create impact. This is central to supporting Africa’s creative boom.
Across South Africa, the creative economy is brimming with potential. It contributes just under 3% of GDP, employs close to 1 million people, and is increasingly recognised as a driver of innovation, identity and economic growth. However, as AI reshapes everything from animation pipelines to post-production workflows, the question is no longer whether creatives will use AI.
Why training matters more than tools
The question now is whether they will be ready to leverage it for impact. This readiness is crucial for sustaining Africa’s creative boom. Earlier this year, we launched an AI for Impact Academy. The programme is a first-of-its-kind initiative designed not to teach software, but to teach strategy.
Developed in partnership with a Cape Town post-production studio and backed by the National Film and Video Foundation, the programme trained a diverse cohort of learners. Participants ranged from recent graduates to seasoned editors. The focus was on using AI as a creative collaborator.
The skills gap is widening
With a focus on real-world application, participants learned to use generative tools to ideate, visualise and execute creative concepts across formats. The goal was not to replace human creativity but to amplify it. AI helps creatives move faster, pitch braver ideas, and unlock new ways of storytelling.
We see AI not as a threat, but as a multiplier. It enables our teams, and now our learners, to work faster, visualise ideas more clearly and pitch braver concepts without waiting for a shoot or post budget. This approach is an essential part of driving Africa’s creative boom.
This mindset is rare and urgently needed. According to recent research, 78% of South African organisations say they urgently need AI skills. Yet most struggle to find qualified talent. Executives believe 40% of their workforce will require new skills in the next three years due to AI. While 66% of South Africans feel they have the skills to use AI appropriately, only 53% have received any formal or informal training. The gap is real, and it is growing.
Building capacity for transformation
Our academy demonstrates that AI literacy, while certainly a technical skill, fundamentally requires creative skill as well. Participants need to understand how tools fit into workflows. They must learn how AI can be used ethically and how it can support rather than dilute the creative process. By embedding AI at the heart of production thinking, industry players can help build transformational capacity. This is essential for nurturing Africa’s creative boom.
The timing for this investment could not be better. South Africa’s youth unemployment rate sits at 62.4% for ages 15 – 24 and 40.4% for ages 25–34. Digital skills initiatives across the country show that, with the right support, young people are ready to thrive in a technology-driven world.
Recent programmes have equipped tens of thousands of graduates with coding and AI-related skills. This is clear evidence that the appetite for digital learning is strong, and the potential for impact is enormous.
However, the creative economy needs more than coders. It needs storytellers, designers, editors and animators. It needs people who understand how to use AI not just to build systems, but to build meaning. This is what will sustain Africa’s creative boom.
Africa’s next creative boom starts with literacy
The academy reminds us that the future of Africa’s creative economy will not be defined by the tools we use. It will be defined by the people we train, the stories we tell and the courage we show in building something new – not just for clients, but for the continent.
We’ve always been obsessed with pushing the latest tech to its limits. 
But the academy reminded us that innovation means nothing unless it’s shared. That’s what makes it sustainable.
As AI continues to evolve, the creative industries must evolve with it. Success will not come from chasing trends, but from investing in people. Our work shows that when training is prioritised, creativity is protected and technology is used with intention, the result is more than better content. It is a stronger, more resilient creative economy. Africa’s next creative boom will not be built on tools. It will be built on talent, and that starts with literacy.
Garon Campbell | Founder | AI Director | Breadbin Productions | mail me |
