Emerging Economies don't need more filmmakers. They need film economies.

I have been thinking about this since attending the launch of the Commonwealth Creative Alliance Initiative Alliance.

The conversation was about how the creative industries across the Commonwealth can be better harnessed to generate economic prosperity.

As a filmmaker, I immediately narrowed the question:

What would it take to build film economies in Africa?

Not film projects.

Not occasional festivals.

Not a few talented filmmakers making films.

Film economies.

There is a fundamental difference.

Countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and Nigeria have developed relatively sophisticated creative ecosystems. But smaller nations such as The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Barbados are still developing the infrastructure, skills, financing and policies required to build sustainable film industries.

At the Commonwealth launch, Malta's Ambassador explained how the country had developed a sophisticated cash-rebate system to attract international productions, including major films such as Gladiator.

But the rebate was only part of the story.

Malta combined incentives with skills development, local talent and its extraordinary locations.

The country understood something important:

A foreign film production should not simply come, shoot and leave. It should leave something behind.

Skills.

Jobs.

Businesses.

Infrastructure.

Knowledge.

Networks.

And eventually, a domestic industry.

Jamaica offers a similar lesson.

Jamaica does not rely on the same type of cash or tax incentive.

Instead, it has focused on ensuring that when international productions arrive, Jamaican nationals gain skills and experience that can subsequently strengthen the domestic sector.

The country's natural beauty is an asset.

Its people are an asset.

Its culture is an asset.

Its growing skills base is an asset.

The challenge is to turn those assets into an ecosystem and the Government has now set up a film fund to support local filmmaking.

Both examples reinforced something I explored in my Executive MBA research into creating a film economy in The Gambia:

Government's active participation matters.

Not government controlling filmmaking.

Government creating the conditions for filmmaking to become an industry.

This is where Porter's Diamond becomes interesting.

In my MBA I discovered Michael Porter's framework in which he argues that national competitiveness is influenced by the resources, skills, infrastructure, supporting industries, demand and government conditions within an economy.

So instead of asking:

"Why doesn't The Gambia have a film industry like Nigeria?"

we should ask:

What is The Gambia's competitive diamond?

Perhaps it is its landscapes.

Perhaps its culture and stories.

Perhaps its relatively low production costs.

Perhaps its diaspora.

Perhaps its English-language environment.

Perhaps its proximity to other West African markets.

Perhaps it is a combination of all of these.

The same exercise could be undertaken in Sierra Leone, Barbados, Liberia and other smaller nations.

Identify the diamond. Strengthen it. Connect it. Monetise it.

But what if we stopped thinking about countries individually?

This, to me, is where the Commonwealth conversation becomes particularly exciting.

What if smaller countries could combine their diamonds?

Imagine a West African film ecosystem where:

One country provides locations.

Another provides studios.

Another provides skilled crews.

Another provides post-production.

Another provides financing.

Another provides distribution.

Another provides access to international markets.

Instead of six small film industries competing against each other, you could have one connected regional production ecosystem.

The Commonwealth already provides a network through which this kind of thinking could be explored.

Why shouldn't we be thinking about a Commonwealth film corridor?

Then there is arbitrage.

Another concept from my MBA research was Pankaj Ghemawat's concept of arbitrage—taking advantage of differences in costs and capabilities between locations.

This has enormous implications for emerging countries.

A film does not cost the same to produce in London as it does in The Gambia?

If a film can be produced competitively in a lower-cost African environment and sold into higher-value international markets, that difference can become an economic advantage.

The model becomes:

Produce competitively → sell globally → bring foreign revenue into the country → reinvest locally → grow the ecosystem.

That is economics.

And then we need clusters.

One of the ideas discussed at the Commonwealth event and is also discused in my MBA thesis, was the concept of creative clusters.

Think Silicon Valley.

Or the Tourism Development Area in The Gambia.

The power is not simply in the individual technology companies. It is in the ecosystem around them. 

Film can work the same way.

Imagine a film cluster in The Gambia or any other emerging film economy containing:

Studios

Film schools

Production companies

Equipment suppliers

Post-production facilities

High-speed internet

Reliable electricity

Hotels

Catering businesses

Transport companies

Lawyers and IP specialists

Investors and financial services

That is not just a film industry.

That is an economic ecosystem.

And it creates employment far beyond actors and directors.

Electricians.

Carpenters.

Drivers.

Caterers.

Designers.

Accountants.

Lawyers.

Software developers.

Costume makers.

Set builders.

Photographers.

Editors.

Sound engineers.

The multiplier effect is enormous.

Film should not be treated as a luxury.

This is the part I believe governments of emerging ecnomies need to take seriously.

Film and television are not simply entertainment.

They are export industries.

They generate intellectual property.

They create employment.

They attract international investment.

They promote tourism.

They develop technology and skills.

They create businesses.

They tell a country's story to the world.

And they can generate foreign exchange.

Yet in many emerging economies, filmmaking is still treated as an optional cultural activity rather than a strategic economic sector.

That is a mistake.

There is also a much bigger social question.

Africa has one of the world's youngest populations.

We constantly talk about youth unemployment.

We talk about migration.

We talk about the need to create opportunities for young people.

But we rarely put the creative industries at the centre of that conversation.

Why?

If a young Gambian, Sierra Leonean or Ghanaian can build a career as a filmmaker, editor, animator, sound engineer, producer, screenwriter, designer or production manager without having to leave their country, that is economic development.

If they can create intellectual property that is sold internationally, that is an export.

If the company they build employs another 20 young people, that is an industry.

If those companies eventually employ hundreds or thousands, we have something much bigger than individual creative careers.

We have a creative economy.

How do we build creative economies in every part of the Commonwealth?

And particularly:

How can the countries with established creative industries help smaller nations develop theirs?

Could the UK provide expertise and market access?

Could Nigeria and South Africa share production expertise and talent?

Could Canada and Australia contribute technology, investment and training?

Could smaller Commonwealth nations provide locations, culture, stories and emerging talent?

Could we create co-production structures, investment funds, training partnerships, distribution networks and regional production hubs?

Could we build a Commonwealth creative ecosystem in which the success of one country's creative industry strengthens another's?

I believe we can.

The European Union provides a blueprint. So does Silicon Valley.

My argument is simple:

Emerging economies should stop thinking about how to make more films and start thinking about how to build film economies.

Because when we build the economy around the film, the film becomes more than a production.

It becomes a job.

A business.

An export.

An investment.

An intellectual property asset.

A skills pipeline.

A tourism opportunity.

And potentially, a reason for a young person to believe they can build a future at home.

Film is not the add-on.

Film is the industry.

And perhaps the next great global film economy doesn't have to look like Hollywood.

Perhaps it could look like the Commonwealth.

#Film #Africa #CreativeEconomy #CreativeIndustries #Commonwealth #FilmIndustry #EconomicDevelopment #FilmFinance #AfricanCinema #Gambia #Nigeria #Jamaica #Malta #YouthEmployment #Investment