Strengthening the Creative Industries for Development in ... - unctad

20 PART 3. CREATIVE INDUSTRIES POLICY REVIEW
three United Nations agencies. This procedure would pave the way for the setting up of the Creative
Economy Inter-ministerial Committee, as a standing body.
3.1.2 FINANCING MECHANISMS
As mentioned earlier, the official budget allocated to culture is insignificant as in many other
developing countries. In 2008, the budget for education accounted for 2.25 per cent of the national
budget, while the cultural sector had only 0.03 per cent. Interestingly, for 2009 the budgetary
allocation for education increased to 8 per cent but the cultural sector received only 0.3 per cent. This
means that for the total allocation for the Ministry of Education and Culture, education accounted for
96.4 per cent of the budget while culture had received 3.6 per cent. 51 Education is undoubtedly a key
priority; however culture also deserves more funds. According to the directives under consideration at
the cultural policy, other sources of financing should be envisaged for the cultural activities, including
grants from the FUNDAC and incentives from the Law of Protection of Heritage, as well as from the
involvement of the private sector through sponsorships and corporate social responsibility schemes.
At present, the banking system of Mozambique has three micro-financing banks 52 and five credit
unions. Banking and micro-finance activities are subject to the banking law. 53 However, the
government does not have any specific public funding programmes in place to support the creative
industries. It does provide periodic support through various activities. For example, the MEC
organizes an annual Festival of Culture and a Festival of Traditional Song and Music. Competitions
are held throughout the different districts and regions of the country and the winners go to compete at
the national level. The winners receive a monetary prize. The MEC also gives out awards once a year
to distinguished artists who receive monetary prizes.
Action: A Creative Industries Fund, either sector-specific, or for the entire creative industries should
be established. The fund could be financed through a variety of both public and private sources. For
example, broadcasters, internet service providers, and satellite TV should pay a tax to supply the fund.
Government could make straight contributions or use a fund matching system. Contributions could
come through the modification of the sponsorship law.
Many of the skills and professions linked to the creative economy are not recognized in business
terms, thus making access to funding and or credit extremely difficult. The possibility of microcredit is
particularly interesting in this sector. Microcredit schemes already exist in various forms in many
countries; however the level of interest rates should not be abusive.
Action: Establish microfinance schemes to encourage the development of creative enterprises, in
particular through public-private cooperation.
There is no specific policy on financing new enterprises in the creative sectors. Nevertheless, a
strategic plan to reinforce small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been approved by the
Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) and is under implementation, which can have a positive
impact for enhancing the creative industries. 54 Certain encouraging initiatives do exist. For example,
GAPI is a financing institute for SMEs that promotes jobs through capacity-building. It is a PPP in
which the government has a 30 per cent share. The board includes a government representative, a
representative from civil society and one person from the Foundation for Community Development
(funded by Graça Machel). They are involved in microcredit and they try to establish a link with
capacity-building and financing. GAPI facilitates the creation of associations, facilitates business
development and assists in microfinance management, legislation for associations and for businesses.
It also provides training for local trainers and managers. In the context of this project, GAPI will be
51
During the Second National Conference on Culture, there were lively debates about the financing of culture.
The information above was provided in the paper “Financiamento da Cultura: Desafios e Oportunidades” by
Salomão Julio Manhiça, May 2009.
52
Socremo-Banco de Microfinanças; Novo Banco and Banco Oportunidade de Mozambique.
53
See Law No. 15/99, November 1999.
54
MIC, Maputo, 4 September 2008.