Global Afrobeats superstar David ‘Davido’ Adeleke has urged African governments to invest more in creative spaces as well as provide financial support to artists.
Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Tuesday, May 13, he urged African artists to stop seeking validation from outside Africa, emphasizing the growing potential of Africa’s entertainment industry. This was during a panel discussion under the theme “Creative competition: How can Africa claim its place in the global entertainment industry?”
The global superstar, who is also the founder of the music label Davido Music Worldwide, emphasized his commitment to changing Africa’s narrative on a global scale through his music fame. Having been born in the US, Davido said he could have stayed and done his music there, but he decided to move to Africa.
“I moved back to Nigeria, started music, and then my music took me back to America,” he said, underscoring that African artists’ goal should not be to seek validation of their music from America or the UK.
The Afrobeats star, who recently released his new album “5ive,” noted that there is still a need for entertainment infrastructure in Africa. Davido has been touring the world and performing live but he stressed that it is a challenge to deliver a standard performance in Africa like he does in the West due to the lack of good facilities.
He pointed out that only Rwanda and a few other countries have Arenas that can accommodate their performances, encouraging investment in entertainment infrastructure as it would stop artists from traveling outside the continent seeking better facilities.
“The governments obviously can help us a lot with funding. Not just for me, but for the artists that are coming up,” he said. “I can try for myself some more, but there are so many artists out there who are so talented but they don’t have the means. I think that is what is missing.”
While the creative industry employs a large number of young people, what is often the case is that the creatives, finance people, philanthropists, and lawyers do not speak the same language, which hinders investment in the industry, Akunna Cook, the CEO of Next Narrative Africa, said. She noted that the industry has been growing, making it worthy of increased investment.
In Rwanda, some of the figures in the creative industry had also echoed the same concern, noting that investors should overcome their fear of investing in the entertainment industry as artists continue to prove their worth and reveal untapped potential.
