The United States recently organized the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to host creators and intellectual property policymakers from Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, with the goal of boosting Africa’s creative industries.
This initiative, conducted in collaboration with UNESCO, aimed to enhance intellectual property protection and enforcement frameworks essential for the growth of creative sectors.
From June 22 to July 3, eight participants engaged in this program, traveling to key U.S. cities to exchange ideas and learn best practices.
Representing Nigeria were Obi Asika, Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Council for Arts & Culture; Zulu Oyibo, Co-founder of InkBlot Productions; and Alexander Okeke, Talent & Business Manager at YBNL Nation Entertainment.
Their itinerary included meetings with U.S. policymakers and industry associations in Washington, D.C., interactions with industry leaders and professional guilds in Los Angeles, and visits to production studios and local government officials in Atlanta.
A robust intellectual property protection and enforcement framework is vital for ensuring that creative artists, inventors, and other rights holders can secure their works and receive fair compensation.
Such frameworks not only safeguard innovation but also foster economic growth by creating jobs, generating higher wages, and integrating multiple industries.
This IVLP visit builds upon efforts initiated at the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, where the U.S. Department of State committed to supporting Africa’s creative economy.
Since the summit, the department has facilitated creative ecosystem roundtables in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, with support from UNESCO, which had previously mapped Africa’s film and audiovisual industries in 2021.
Additionally, a fifth roundtable, hosted in Egypt in June in partnership with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, further underscores the commitment to strengthening intellectual property frameworks across the continent.
