Event Recap

On December 5, the Africa Center co-hosted an event with the Office of Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick on Capitol Hill on the importance of protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) for African creatives. This event highlighted the Africa Center’s recent report, “How protecting intellectual property rights in African music, film, and fashion can create opportunity and wealth,” by Eric Guichard. Banky Wellington, renowned Nigerian-American singer, actor, entrepreneur, and politician, provided keynote remarks, followed by a report presentation and panel discussion featuring: 

• Lual Mayen, Founder at Junub Games 
• Linda Oramasionwu-Leverette, Founding Partner at Kupanda Capital   
• Mariessa Terrell, Trademark Attorney at the US Patent and Trademark Office 
• Eric Guichard, Founder and CEO at Homestrings and Author of an Atlantic Council report on IPR. 

Wellington opened the event by identifying teamwork and collaboration, the transfer of knowledge, and time invested, as the key factors needed “to see the potential of the African creative sector come to fruition.” 

Wellington pointed out Nollywood’s position as Nigeria’s second-highest employer of labor and the need for “world class film-making institutions” in the industry. He explained that Nollywood’s full potential has yet to be reached and through investment, “imagine what it could do with the right kind of teaching and institutional knowledge.”  

Shifting to the report presentation, Guichard began by defining IPR as “the process by which you take an idea and convert it into an asset,” which then becomes valuable depending on how it’s used. He emphasized that in contexts where there is a lot of creation, protection is fundamental.  

Guichard highlighted that in Africa, IPR frameworks are “very fragmented,” adding that thirty-four out of the fifty-four states on the continent have their own expressions of IPR but lack the resources to enforce those rights and create value.  

Guichard argued that “the consumption of African inventions is not limited to Africa—it is global,” adding that in a global marketplace, the assets of African creators must be secured. He explained that this can be done by working with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to facilitate registrations or through “home-grown solutions, such as Udux or Mdundo.” 

Guichard noted that with the youth driving innovation in Africa, the enforcement of IPR offers an opportunity to reduce unemployment and create wealth for youth “on their own terms.” He reiterated the key recommendation of this report, which is to leverage access to trademark registrations from USPTO, while integrating the efforts of the African Export-Import Bank, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization, the African Intellectual Property Organization, and others, to achieve stronger IPR protections on the continent and facilitate job creation and wealth-building for African creatives. 

The panel discussion, moderated by Ambassador Rama Yade, senior director of the Africa Center, expanded upon the ideas presented in the report and discussed what protecting IPR for creatives looks like. 

According to Oramasionwu-Leverette, when Kupanda Capital began investing in African creative industries, there was some skepticism. However, it was an opportunity to “put together some of the structures” including international distribution agreements and capture public performance revenues in publishing “that would allow for prosperity and wealth-building.” 

Terrell added that the USPTO provides capacity-building and training programs and will provide those options in Africa through their new intellectual property attaché, who will be based in Johannesburg. She also explained that through the Madrid Protocol, African countries and institutions who are signatories “can obtain registration in the United States through one application.” 

Mayen reflected on his experience as a founder in the gaming industry, and how access to “information and education” about IPR and monetization can change the lives of youth and entrepreneurs on the continent. He added that founders are dealing with a “lack of resources and funding” to scale their ideas. 

Building upon this, Guichard explained that giving youth “access to securing their intellectual property and access to technology to monetize their property” can be a gamechanger for the creative sector. 

Guichard added that this can be made possible by providing youth the tools to “create their own businesses” and take advantage of the growing digital economy. 

Eric Guichard is founder and CEO of Homestrings.com, a global diaspora investment and research firm.

Macire Aribot is a Program Assistant at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.

Event Description

On Thursday, December 5 at 2:00 p.m. ET at the US Capitol Visitor Center, the Africa Center—in an event co-hosted by the Office of US Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick—will bring together leading voices in the African creative sector, congressional leaders, policymakers, and business leaders to discuss the importance of protecting African innovation and the role of the United States in supporting the development of intellectual property rights (IPR) frameworks in Africa. 

According to the United Nations, the creative sector will generate twenty billion dollars in revenue per year towards Africa’s economy. With creativity and innovation being clear drivers of economic growth and job creation for the expanding youth population, strengthening IPR frameworks will be essential to ensuring wealth creation for artists.  

The Africa Center recently released a report, “How protecting intellectual property rights in African music, film, and fashion can create opportunity and wealth,” by Eric Guichard. Launched on the margins of UNGA in New York in September, this report highlights the need for stronger IPR and copyright frameworks across the African continent, emphasizing that current policy frameworks for IPR lack the support needed to enforce and protect the work of African creatives. Recognizing the challenges to IPR valuation and monetization, there is also an opportunity for policymakers and investors to address these issues. At the event, Guichard will dive into the main findings from his report, alongside a panel of experts on Africa’s creative industry. 

Join us in-person on Thursday, December 5, at 2:00 p.m. ET at the US Capitol Visitor Center, Washington, DC 20510.

Keynotes

Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick
US Representative for Florida’s 20th Congressional District

Banky Wellington
Singer, Actor, Entrepreneur, and Politician

Report presentation

Eric Guichard
Founder and CEO, Homestrings
Author of an Atlantic Council report on IPR

Panel discussion

Lual Mayen
Founder
Junub Games

Linda Oramasionwu-Leverette
Founding Partner
Kupanda Capital  

Mariessa Terrell
Trademark Attorney
US Patent and Trademark Office

Eric Guichard
Founder and CEO, Homestrings
Author of an Atlantic Council report on IPR

Moderated by

Amb. Rama Yade
Senior Director, Africa Center
Atlantic Council