{"id":120665,"date":"2026-02-26T16:36:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:49:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:49:29","slug":"creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study","title":{"rendered":"Creatives grappling with funding, market access \u2013 new study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>A new study has found that many creatives in Rwanda aspire to build sustainable businesses but face major barriers, including limited entrepreneurial skills, access to finance, equipment and market linkages.<\/p>\n

The assessment, conducted by private consultancies in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Arts, reviewed 245 applicants to the Arts Connekt Programme, a competition for creative entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

Findings show that only 43 percent of respondents earn income solely from their art. Nearly half (47 percent) rely on additional income sources, while 10 percent reported earning nothing from their creative work.<\/p>\n

More than half (56 percent) have never received formal creative training. The gap is wider geographically: 60 percent of urban creatives have accessed training, compared to 38 percent in rural areas.<\/p>\n

Equipment and materials were cited as the top need, at 55 percent overall. Rural creatives were more affected, with 60 percent identifying it as a priority compared to 43 percent of urban respondents.<\/p>\n

Adam Bradford, Chief Executive of Green Horizon Ventures, one of the consultancies behind the study, said the findings highlight stark differences between urban and rural creatives, with those outside Kigali facing greater challenges.<\/p>\n

Chief Executive of Green Horizon Ventures, one of team members that carried out the newly presented study, during an interview. Courtesy<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recommendations were around ensuring geographic balance, segmenting training according to different stages of a creative\u2019s journey, and brokering access to international markets,\u201d he said, adding that many initiatives exist but are often fragmented, calling for stronger coordination to build a sustainable ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Creatives who commented on the findings stressed the need for better market understanding. Musician Delah Dube questioned whether sufficient data exists on consumer demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the capacity of the market as it stands right now? Do we know how much people are willing to pay for the art we produce?\u201d she asked, urging more intentional planning and quality assessment.<\/p>\n

Others called for structured, long-term training programmes instead of one-off workshops, as well as stronger integration of arts education in schools to nurture talent early.<\/p>\n

Rigobert Uwiduhaye, a visual artist who runs a studio and gallery employing over 20 creatives in Musanze, said the impact of the gaps is evident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge is confidence,\u201d he said. \u201cMany struggle with pricing their artwork and negotiating with buyers.\u201d He called for stronger capacity building and exposure to local and international professionals.<\/p>\n

Brave Ngabo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Arts, said the creative economy is prioritised under NST2 as part of efforts to generate employment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a mandate to create 250,000 jobs per year, and there is nowhere better we can find those jobs than in the creative sector,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that the government is expanding creative infrastructure, strengthening enforcement of intellectual property laws and reinforcing collective management organisations.<\/p>\n

He also announced the ongoing restructuring of the Rwanda Arts Council, in collaboration with UNESCO, to improve artist representation and align skills development with labour market needs.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. A new study has found that many creatives in Rwanda aspire to build sustainable businesses but face major barriers, including limited entrepreneurial skills, access to finance, equipment and market linkages. The assessment, conducted by private consultancies in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Arts, reviewed 245 applicants to the Arts Connekt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":120664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[67,758],"class_list":["post-120665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-creative-industry","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nCreatives grappling with funding, market access \u2013 new study - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new study has found that many creatives in Rwanda aspire to build sustainable businesses but face major barriers, incl ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creatives grappling with funding, market access \u2013 new study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new study has found that many creatives in Rwanda aspire to build sustainable businesses but face major barriers, incl ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T16:36:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T16:49:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1772111926.243164.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"587\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Creatives grappling with funding, market access \u2013 new study\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T16:36:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T16:49:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study\"},\"wordCount\":501,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1772111926.243164.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"creative industry\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/creatives-grappling-with-funding-market-access-new-study\",\"name\":\"Creatives grappling with funding, market access \u2013 new study - 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