Brussels, 28 July 2021/OACPS: The British Council, Kenya and HEVA, with the financial contribution of the European Union (EU), and backing from the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) today launched “Ignite Culture!”a new Eastern Africa grant finance facility for the creative and cultural industries (CCIs). The launch also featured a virtual event on Wednesday 28 July 2021 to discuss the objectives and ambitions of the programme.

Ignite Culture! is a part of the global ACP-EU Culture and Creative Sectors Programme for Central, Southern and Western Africa, as well as the Caribbean and the Pacific. Assistance to the cultural and creative industries includes grant financing, business aid for grantees and ecosystem support via digital platforms.

The main objective of Ignite Culture! is to contribute to making culture a lever for economic development and social cohesion. The funding will help successful applicants develop programmes and projects to grow their own ventures and do cultural work within their target communities. The facility will also buttress efforts around building skills and develop ways to enable better working environments for creative businesses.

Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) of the Department of Political Affairs and Human Development at the OACPS, Mr Ibrahim Norbert Richard described the launch of Ignite Culture! as, “The culmination of years of effort, during which, in close collaboration with the European Commission, the OACPS Secretariat has worked to bring financing offers closer to the operators on the ground.”

The ACP-EU Culture Programme in Eastern Africa will be open to applicants in Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, from Monday, 9 August 2021.

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