Culture, Policy and Creative Enterprise: A Conversation with Ayeta Anne Wangusa of Culture and Development East Africa (CDEA)

Most of us encounter the creative economy through its finished products. We watch a film on Netflix, listen to a new song, buy a novel from a bookshop or admire a fashion designer's latest collection. The visible point of entry is always the same: the finished product. We rarely stop to think about everything that had to happen before that creative work reached us.

That was one of the central themes explored during our Stories of Business' conversation with Ayeta Anne Wangusa, Executive Director of Culture and Development East Africa (CDEA). What began as a discussion about culture and creativity quickly became something much broader. It became a conversation about policy, finance, intellectual property, regional cooperation and the countless invisible systems that determine whether creative talent becomes economic opportunity.

One observation particularly stood out. Ayeta explained that CDEA was established to bring together policymakers and civil society to improve the environment in which creatives operate. Over time, however, the organisation realised something important. Advocacy alone is not enough. To influence policy effectively, organisations must also understand the practical realities creatives face every day. That led CDEA to complement its research and advocacy with an incubator and accelerator, allowing ideas to be tested in practice before informing wider policy discussions.

It is a lesson that extends well beyond the creative industries. Good policy often depends on practical experience, while practical experience without supportive policy can only go so far. The strongest ecosystems are built when the two reinforce each other.

The conversation also highlighted a shift taking place within the creative economy itself. Many creatives still think primarily in terms of selling a product or a service. A writer sells a book. A musician performs at an event. A filmmaker produces a film. Yet, increasingly, the greater opportunity lies in licensing intellectual property. A book can become an audiobook, a digital publication, a television series or a film adaptation. A piece of music can generate royalties every time it is played. Creative work can continue generating value long after its original sale.

That changes the way creativity is understood. Instead of being viewed as a one-off transaction, creativity becomes an asset capable of producing value through multiple channels over many years. The creator is no longer simply selling today's work but building tomorrow's opportunities.

Another fascinating part of the discussion centred on what Ayeta described as the creative value chain. Like agriculture, where a product moves from seed to consumer, the creative industries follow their own journey. It begins with the creator before moving into production, publishing or recording, distribution, marketing and finally the consumer. Along the way there are publishers, reviewers, festivals, educational institutions, distributors, streaming platforms and many other participants helping creative work reach its audience.

Most people never see that chain. They see the book on the shelf or the film on the screen.

Stories of Business has always explored what lies beyond the visible point of entry, and the creative economy provides a perfect example. Success is rarely the result of talent alone. It depends on an ecosystem working together.

Perhaps the most revealing example Ayeta shared involved a meeting between filmmakers and a major financial institution. Significant investment capital existed for the film industry, yet very little of it was reaching filmmakers. Not because the institution lacked interest, but because the industry itself was not organised in a way that matched how the bank invested. The institution focused on large-scale investments, while many filmmakers operated independently on relatively small projects. The advice was simple: organise yourselves and come back.

This was not simply a finance problem.

It was an organisational problem.

Capital existed. Talent existed. Demand existed. The missing piece was the structure capable of bringing them together.

That distinction matters because many industries do not necessarily suffer from a shortage of resources. More often they suffer from disconnected systems. Finance, regulation, education and entrepreneurship frequently develop at different speeds. When those parts fail to connect, opportunity struggles to emerge no matter how much talent exists.

This thinking also explains why CDEA is supporting discussions around an East African co-production treaty. Rather than individual filmmakers operating in relatively small national markets, regional collaboration creates larger audiences, shared resources and stronger investment opportunities. A Tanzanian filmmaker working alongside a Kenyan or Ugandan producer suddenly has access to a much wider market. Scale changes everything. Investors become more interested because the commercial opportunity becomes significantly more attractive.

Markets, in other words, are often built rather than simply discovered.

Towards the end of the conversation, attention turned to the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, which Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda will jointly host. Most people naturally think about football, tourism or infrastructure. CDEA is thinking about musicians. If music is played in stadiums, fan zones and broadcasts, are the systems in place to ensure musicians receive royalties? Who collects those payments? How are they distributed? How are creators protected?

Again, it is a less visible dynamic.

The public hears the music.

Very few people think about the systems determining whether the artist is ever paid.

That perhaps captures the wider lesson from the conversation. Creativity alone does not build a creative economy. Enterprise emerges when creators, policymakers, financial institutions, educators, distributors and regulators all play their part. Individual effort cannot compensate for fragmented markets, weak institutions or disconnected ecosystems.

The same principle extends well beyond culture. Whether discussing agriculture, manufacturing, technology or financial services, success rarely depends on one organisation acting alone. It emerges when multiple organisations, institutions and markets work together towards a common outcome.

That is what makes this conversation so relevant beyond the creative industries. On the surface it is about culture. At a deeper level it is about how societies create the conditions for ideas to become opportunity.

Creative people have always existed. Great stories have always existed. The real challenge is building environments where those stories can travel further, create more value and support sustainable livelihoods for the people who create them.

Perhaps that is the biggest lesson of all. The future of the creative economy will not be determined solely by the next generation of talented writers, musicians or filmmakers. It will also depend on the policies, institutions, partnerships and markets that surround them. Talent may spark the journey, but enterprise is what allows creativity to endure.

Stories of Business Founder Series:

This article was inspired by the Stories of Business Founder Conversation with Ayeta Anne Wangusa, Executive Director of Culture and Development East Africa (CDEA).

Watch the full conversation here: https://youtu.be/cCFWax01V54