Over 2,800 young women have graduated from the Covid-19 and Digital employability programme by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB).
In partnership with namely the African Centre for Women, Information, and Communications Technology (ACWICT) the women were equipped with key skills to help in job creation in the digital space today.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony on Thursday at Afralti Grounds, Sports and the Arts PS Jonathan Mueke congratulated the women for the successful completion of the programme.
“I also take this early opportunity to commend the UK Government through its Digital Access Programme for the kind gesture of funding the programme,” he said.
Mueke said the programme, which incorporated the digital creative space, was in line with the Ministry of Youths, Sports and the Arts’ plan for Kenyan Creatives.
“The identification of the creative economy as a key driver of the economy is not misplaced,” he said.
Global research indicates that the creative economy contributes more than 6.1 per cent to the global gross domestic product (GDP), averaging between 2 per cent and 7 per cent of national GDPs around the world.
“According to UN estimates, the creative industries generate annual revenues of over two trillion US dollars and account for nearly 50 million jobs worldwide,” Mueke said.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistic’s 2019 Economic Survey showed that the Kenyan film industry directly employed 129,824 people in 2019 or about 4.5 per cent of the country’s total employed workforce.
“In the same period, the Kenyan film and audiovisual sector contributed an estimated Sh14.07 billion to the country’s GDP,” he said.
He noted with pride that over 54 per cent of mobile telephone users in the country have access to smartphones.
“I wish to encourage today’s graduands, particularly those in the creative space, to leverage on this opportunity to generate wealth as well as create more jobs in the digital space,” he said.
