Upskilling in the informal creative economy: responding to young African creatives and their educational needs. 
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PhD in Leadership Studies with reference to Security & Development

Background and context ​
​ This studentship offers a unique opportunity to engage with ongoing work between KCL and the Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education to provide large numbers of young Africans with access to education and opportunities they would otherwise not have, via transnational technology/digital platforms. The vision for the Centre is based on the potential of education to empower and enable Africa’s talented young people to make meaningful contributions to their communities and the world and take leadership in/contribution to social justice causes and UNs SDGs West Africa—anchored by Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal—has become one of the most dynamic hubs of the African creative economy. The region’s creative and cultural industries (CCIs) encompass music, film, fashion, visual arts, design, and digital media, contributing substantially to GDP and youth employment. According to UNESCO (2023), Africa’s cultural and creative industries generate about US$58 billion annually, representing roughly 3% of global creative trade, with West Africa contributing a significant share through its strong film, music, and fashion sectors. In Nigeria, for example, the creative industries contribute an estimated 2.3% of national GDP (NBS, 2021), with the country’s film industry—Nollywood — identified as the second-largest film producer in the world, employing over one million people directly and indirectly (UNESCO, 2023; PwC, 2020). Other African countries, including Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, are witnessing similar growth.
The literature acknowledges common barriers to ‘good’ creative work are around the creative economy (formal and informal) and its precarity (Dent, 2020), especially under neoliberalism (see, e.g., Lazzarato 2009; Vallas & Christin 2018). According to the Nigerian Labour Force Survey (2024), the informal sector is the primary source of employment for the majority of Nigerians. Understanding the informal economy as labour activities which are not subject to official monitoring or taxation, including workers who have no formal contract/employment rights and therefore not covered by labour protection laws, which includes self-employed contractors, the Nigerian informal employment rate rose to 93% in Q2 2024, up from 92.7% in Q1 2024. Self-employment remained the most prevalent form of employment, accounting for 85.6% of total employment. These include often less-qualified positions in large creative ecosystems (like Nollywood) or skills picked up by parents or their families in more rural/ peripheral contexts, in family-run micro businesses that are unable to emerge into more formal national or international markets. Often, pushed by the need for more skills and professionalisation, young people might look to online digital platforms (like YouTube) for self-training that isn’t covered by quality-assurance regulations or that doesn't provide formal accreditation.
Informality also means that much of the economic value generated in these industries is underreported, leading to policy neglect despite their enormous employment impact.  West Africa’s creative economy is youth-driven, reflecting the region’s demographic profile—over 60% of the population is under 25.
Initiatives such as the African Union’s Plan of Action on Cultural and Creative Industries (2021–2025) and Nigeria’s Creative Industries Development Bill (2022 draft) aim to strengthen institutional support, provide funding, formalise, and reduce precarity in creative enterprise. However, access to education remains pivotal. 
Area of research ​

Project Code: ​2627-ACBB2

Entry Requirements

This project leads to the award of a PhD in Leadership Studies with reference to Security & Development. Before you apply, please check the specific entry requirements and once ready, complete the application via King's Apply. Remember to include the Project Code in your application.

Supervisors

​Dr Michael Flavin is a Reader in Global Education in the African Leadership Centre
Dr Tamsyn Dent, Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries
​Dr Kingsley Ugwuanyi, Afe Babelola Centre.

Project Partner

Afe Babalola Centre for Transnational Education
​Established in 2023, the Afe Babalola Centre (ABC) enables King's and its network of partners to provide young Africans with access to education and opportunities which they would otherwise not have. The vision for the Centre is based on the power of education to empower and enable Africa’s talented young people to make meaningful contributions to their communities and the world. Funded by the Nigerian philanthropist and lawyer, Aare Afe Babalola, the Centre is supporting Africa’s best minds to become local, national and global leaders. The continent can play a central role in addressing the most pressing challenges of our time – such as migration, climate change, inequalities and social justice. The Centre is a sustainable programme of global education and collaboration to share best practice, develop new approaches to learning, and benefit generations to come.
Keywords
  • Creative Education
  • Creative work
  • Upskilling
  • Precarity
  • Transnational education
  • Digital education
  • West Africa Creative economies
The doctoral candidate (DC) will work under the supervision of Dr Flavin,  Dr Dent and Dr Kingsley Ugwuanyi. They will benefit from unique involvement with the Afe Babelola Centre. Access will also be further facilitated to research resources, mentoring, and networking opportunities across the ABC. The DC will explore questions around:
  • The available data on the young and educational needs of West Africans, with a specific focus on the creative economy
  • They will devise a research strategy and methodology to explore specific challenges/opportunities (examples: financial, qualifications, time constraints) preventing/enabling professionalisation of current young workers (under 35)
  • They will explore strategies and opportunities through which they access knowledge and skills via transnational technology/ digital platforms from informal and formal providers.
  • They will examine the pedagogy and the development of curricula to support the delivery of creative education in transnational digital spaces
  • Investigate the ecosystem and networks of technology-based/enhanced knowledge/education providers that may include education institutions, intermediaries and organisations that support professionalisation (including qualifications), whether locally, nationally and internationally.
  • Consider the role of policy, but also others(like ABC) that can play in delivering education about the creative economy in this space.
Expected outcome ​
Bridging knowledge and expertise across the Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and Public Policy, the project  will contribute to some or all of the following outcomes:
  • Develop an understanding of the needs and aspirations for education and professionalisation of young people working informally in the creative economy in Africa;
  • contribute to global knowledge and understanding of the African creative economy – especially the skills and training ;
  • Contribute to best practice in preserving and engaging creative youth in digital education;
  • Generate a new understanding of creative and digital approaches to education
  • Foster access to shared memory in diasporic communities in London and internationally.
The successful candidate will have opportunities to contribute to debates and initiatives at KCL and the Afe Babalola Centre. 
 
Suggested readings
  • Dent, T., Comunian, R., & Kim, S. (2025). Entrepreneurial capability? Understanding the resources needed for sustainable cultural and creative entrepreneurship in cities. A case study of Enschede, The Netherlands. City, Culture and Society, 43, 100672.
  • Dent, T., Tanghetti, J., & Comunian, R. (2024). Creative and cultural work post-Covid-19: Interruptions as space of political re-futuring. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 27(4), 528-545.
  • Flavin, M., 2017. Disruptive technology enhanced learning. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Flavin, M. and Bhandari, A., 2021. What we talk about when we talk about virtual learning environments. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(4), pp.164-193.
  • Flavin, M. and Quintero, V., 2020. An international study of technology-enhanced learning-related strategies from the perspective of disruptive innovation. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 17(4), pp.475-488.
  • Lobato, R. (2010). Creative industries and informal economies: Lessons from Nollywood. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 13(4), 337-354.
  • Umoh, E. (2024). YouTube as an Effective Digital Tool for Learning in Emerging Economy: Opportunities and Challenges. YouTube as an Effective Digital Tool for Learning in Emerging Economy: Opportunities and Challenges (May 05, 2024).
  • Wreyford, N., Dent, T., & O'Brien, D. (2021). Creative Majority: An APPG for Creative Diversity report on ‘What Works’ to support, encourage and improve equality, diversity and inclusion in the creative sector.: A report for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity.
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