Ghanaian ed-tech startup, Stars From All Nations (SFAN), has secured a grant partnership with the British Council Ghana to train 100 creative entrepreneurs in business and enterprise skills, as part of a wider effort to strengthen the country’s fast-growing creative economy.
The partnership will see SFAN deliver the British Council’s SoCreative Learning Programme to selected creatives across Ghana, equipping them with practical tools to build sustainable, commercially viable careers in sectors such as film, music, fashion, digital content, design, and the visual arts.
The initiative sits within the British Council’s broader Creative Economy Programme, which aims to equip more than 100,000 creatives across Sub-Saharan Africa with entrepreneurial and business capabilities.
“We are delighted to partner with the British Council Ghana on this vital initiative. At SFAN, we firmly believe that young people are smart, and if given the skills and opportunities to engage the real world, magic will happen,” Tom-Chris Emewulu, SFAN founder and president said.
Bridging the Business Skills Gap in the Creative Sector
While Ghana’s creative industries continue to grow, many practitioners lack formal training in areas such as pricing, intellectual property, financial management, marketing, and scaling, limiting their ability to build durable enterprises.
“The SoCreative Learning Programme aligns perfectly with our core mission of equipping Africa’s youth with the tools and opportunities needed to build fulfilling, sustainable careers. I’ve taken the course myself and can confidently say that it’s highly relevant for every creative, regardless of their experience level,” Emewulu noted.
According to the British Council, the SoCreative Learning Programme was designed to address this gap by delivering flexible, hybrid training that is both locally relevant and globally informed.
A Continent-Wide Push for Sustainable Creative Businesses
The British Council has positioned the creative economy as a strategic sector for job creation, cultural export, and economic diversification across Africa.
Paul Kweku Akrofie, Sub-Saharan Africa regional programme lead at the British Council, said the organisation is focused on strengthening creative enterprises, not just creative output.
“At the British Council, we are committed to building the business and entrepreneurial skills of creative entrepreneurs across the creative industries,” Akrofie said. “Through our various Creative Economy programmes over the years, we have supported creatives and creative organisations to develop sustainable businesses, access new markets, and strengthen long-term careers.”
He added that the SoCreative programme was built in collaboration with global and African institutions to ensure practical relevance.
“The SoCreative Learning Programme was designed to increase access to world-class enterprise skills training through flexible, hybrid learning that is locally grounded and globally informed. The courses have been developed by our partners at the University of Arts London, Henley Business School, Belle and Co, Afrinolly as well as with various partners and case studies across the continent.”
“We are pleased to partner with organisations in the industry who are delivering these courses to creatives on the ground, using it to strengthen their creative communities and support the growth of our creative entrepreneurs in Ghana and across Africa.”
What You Should Know
Applications for the first cohort of the programme are open until 30 January, with SFAN and the British Council selecting 100 participants for the initial phase in Ghana.
Organisers say the partnership is expected to strengthen Ghana’s creative ecosystem by helping practitioners move from informal, project-based work into structured, scalable businesses, contributing to job creation, export potential, and economic resilience.
As Africa’s creative economy continues to gain global visibility, initiatives like this signal a shift from celebrating creativity alone to building the infrastructure that allows creative talent to thrive commercially.
Talking Points
It is encouraging that SFAN is moving beyond skills training into enterprise enablement, recognising that talent alone is not enough without business capacity, market access, and commercial understanding.
This partnership directly addresses one of the biggest gaps in Africa’s creative economy: many creatives have strong technical or artistic ability but lack the tools to turn that into sustainable income and scalable businesses.
At Techparley, we see initiatives like this as critical to professionalising creative work across the continent — helping young people move from informal, project-based work into structured, resilient careers.
The integration of structured business education with locally relevant case studies means creatives are not just learning theory, but gaining practical insight into how to run and grow viable enterprises.
However, long-term impact will depend on how accessible the programme remains to creatives outside major urban centres and elite networks. Inclusion, affordability, and outreach will determine whether this reaches those who need it most.
As the programme evolves, there is an opportunity to connect trained creatives directly with financing, distribution platforms, and regional markets. With the right ecosystem support, this initiative could help position Ghana as a leading hub for Africa’s creative enterprise economy.
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