Cnergy in Motion: A power-packed quarter

FOR A decade, SACO has made the case that South Africa's cultural and creative industries (CCIs) count. Between July and September, that case was put to work in the rooms where capital is allocated, partnerships are signed and the law is argued.

I cannot contain my excitement about a collaboration now under way with the Motion Picture Association (MPA). This month, the MPA and Nelson Mandela University announced a landmark collaboration to advance independent research and deepen understanding of the impact of digital piracy across Africa, drawing on the research capabilities of the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO). It is a testament to our decade-long work in the sector and to the emerging role we are playing as an interlocutor for insights on the continent. More on this later.

For an organisation focused on counting, it feels as though this quarter we did more than count: we converted. At Creative Cnergy earlier this month, for instance, we paused to reflect on what the economic signals from our sector have looked like over the past decade.

We know the numbers well, yet it is the “buts” following our insights that reveal the problematic long-term trends. Here is a big one: the sector contributes an estimated R271 billion to GDP and close to 1.4 million jobs, yet creative businesses still struggle to borrow. More than a third of people in cultural occupations work freelance or on their own account, over three times the rate in the wider economy, and most lenders are not set up to assess that kind of work.

Our ten-year review of CCI economic trends was written to close that gap. Launched on 3 September at Creative Cnergy 2026 in a fireside chat with Prof. Pitika Ntuli, it gives banks, investors and government the depth of evidence they expect before backing any other sector, showing where capital is most needed and where the investable opportunities lie. To counter the “buts” and build the creative future we want, our measure of success must be lending and funding decisions that reach creative businesses directly.

Four days later in Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela University and the MPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding that places SACO at the heart of the MPA's first research collaboration of its kind on the continent. Our first study will examine the cybersecurity risks consumers face when they access pirated content in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.

Piracy is often treated as a victimless shortcut. Evidence that it exposes audiences to fraud and malware reframes it as a consumer-protection issue, and gives policymakers weighing tools such as site blocking a locally grounded basis for action. We are honoured to support this work and to bring insights to the ecosystem at a time when trust is eroding and risks are expanding, especially online.

On 11 September, at the inaugural Law and the Creative Industries Colloquium in Stellenbosch, I argued that law and the creative industries constitute one another. The Constitutional Court's June judgment on the Copyright Amendment Bill upheld fair use and struck down the broad education exception, yet the 1978 Act remains in force until Parliament completes its work.

AI is moving far faster. Our research shows that seven in ten creatives already use AI tools, while 89.5% want stronger protection for their work. SACO is now reviewing what the judgment means for each of the CCIs we measure.

Motion and synergy, as you can see, defined this quarter.

I would be remiss not to mention that, in the spirit of our great Madiba, from July onwards we have marked the national moments, days and months of the season. During Women's Month we recognised the women who constitute, and so often drive, our sector and our work, and during Heritage Month we marked heritage as the foundation on which all our creative work rests. As an Observatory hosted by the university that bears Madiba's name, we hold culture to be central to nation-building.

I am especially proud of the way we profiled women across the CCIs on our social media channels. Our mapping shows the sector to be one of the country's most inclusive labour markets for women and young people, and the campaign gave those figures faces, voices and stories. At the Law Colloquium I was also particularly heartened to see the papers presented there treating dance music, indigenous music and repatriated artefacts as living economic and legal questions – our heritage deserves this level of attention and focus.

So what's next?

In the final quarter we will take the trends review to lenders, funders and the wider ecosystem, begin research for the MPA study and continue our AI consultations.

Energy creates impact only when it is directed, and this quarter it moved capital, partnerships and law a little closer to the people who make South Africa's creative economy work. That is the synergy – the Cnergy – we want to keep in motion.

Let’s build a creative, moving Mzansi.