Policy briefs: enhancing the cultural and creative industries in Ghana

Ghana's cultural and creative industries (CCIs) make important contributions to employment, cultural identity, and sustainable development, yet their potential remains constrained by persistent structural and institutional challenges. Drawing on the six-year interdisciplinary Advancing Creative Industries for Development in Ghana (ACIG) project, this collection of policy briefs examines five sectors: fashion, music, film, theatre, and visual arts and crafts. Based on extensive qualitative, participatory, and arts-based research, the briefs highlight both sector-specific and common challenges, including limited access to finance and infrastructure, inadequate policy coordination and institutional support, inequalities, and persistent precarity among creative workers. They also demonstrate practitioners’ creativity, resourcefulness, and the possibilities for strengthening Ghana's cultural and creative economy. The briefs identify pathways to enhance the local impact and global visibility of Ghana's CCIs and call for multi-level interventions across education, finance, infrastructure, and governance to foster greater inclusivity and collaboration.