The Creative Arts Agency (CAA) has on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Expertise France to facilitate a project that aims to foster the growth of the music industry in Ghana.

This was witnessed at a press briefing in Accra. Present at the event were Gyankroma Akufo-Addo, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Creative Arts Agency; Severine Peters of Desteract; H.E Jules Armand Aniambossou, French Ambassador to Ghana; Mark Okraku-Mantey, Deputy Minister to Tourism, Arts and Culture; John Yao Agbeko, Chief Director of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, among others.

At a press briefing, it was announced that the French government, in collaboration with the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Ministry of Economy, has allocated a grant of EUR 500,000 to fund the project. The project is scheduled to commence in June 2023 and is expected to conclude in June 2025.

According to the officials, this initiative comes in response to a request from Ghanaian authorities and reflects the genuine interest of French operators in establishing partnerships with Ghanaian entrepreneurs in the sector. The promising potential for mutually beneficial collaboration between emerging Ghanaian publishing companies and their French counterparts has emerged.

Through these cooperative agreements, there will be opportunities for skill transfer in specialized domains, access to the global copyright market for Ghanaian rights holders, and the growth of business interactions between the music industries of both nations.

"I am looking forward to the steps towards our music creatives having ownership of their works and am excited for the professionalism it will lend to the industry. The relationship between Ghana and France is a long-standing one, strengthening it through the creative spaces builds its longevity," said Gyankroma Akufo-Addo.



Mark Okraku-Mantey expressed optimism the partnership would benefit both parties. He emphasized that the Akufo-Addo government remains focused and is poised to see the progress of the creative industry.

On his part, H.E Jules Armand Aniambossou said, "The French embassy to Ghana has invested heavily in initiating cooperation between France and Ghana in the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI), particularly in music.

"These efforts have been fruitful and have led to collaborations between French and Ghanaian artists, concerts associating French and Ghanaian artists in Accra and Paris, and finally a dialogue on the collective management of copyright in Ghana. I am delighted that it led to a co-constructed project that will benefit both our countries by stimulating the private sector in the music industry.

"It shows the will of both France and Ghana to renew their relationship, and will be followed by a project called Creation Africa - Ghana to support young entrepreneurs in the Cultural and Creative Industries".



In order to mobilise the required expertise, the French embassy and AFD devolved the implementation of the project to Expertise France, the French Agency for International Expertise, a key player in international technical cooperation.

The Creative Arts Agency is the body corporate and responsible for providing the institutional framework for the development and management of the creative arts industry and for related matters, and will therefore be the main partner of the project.

Within this operational framework, the overall objective of the project is to encourage the deployment of all the music industry's value chains in Ghana through meetings and cooperation between private sector operators with complementary interests. This project will promote a virtuous economic model, make artistic careers more accessible and credible, while promoting Ghana's artistic heritage. It targets young people in particular, but it also supports the social and economic inclusion of all actors in the sector who participate in music production.

More specifically, the following components have been established to support the structuring of Ghana's music industry sector:

1. Remunerating and protecting those who create and/or produce the works: support the professional sector of music creation, particularly young Ghanaian entrepreneurs, by enabling artists to earn a decent income from their creations while retaining ownership of copyrights in Ghana;

2. Plan the creation of venues for the dissemination of music in Ghana: propose an analytical study that will make recommendations for the development of music venues;

3. Innovating and developing CSR initiatives in music festivals: encourage cooperation between festivals in France and festivals in Ghana, notably around sustainability issues; promote Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) among Ghanaian festival organizers and partners and turn them into virtuous models capable of attracting new funding from the private sector.

A kickoff workshop is expected to be hosted by the signatories and implemented parties with actors in the music industry in order to co-construct project activities and make sure that the project is tailored to the needs and expectations of the Ghanaian music industry.