Deadline: December 7, 2025
Applications are open for the Création Africa – South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi 2025. Création Africa aims to boost and support cultural entrepreneurship in South Africa, Lesotho, and Malawi through a holistic approach that combines mentorship, incubation, training, funding and networking to support cultural entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey, with a focus on entrepreneurs within a growth stage.
Création Africa aims to support a vibrant and sustainable ecosystem for cultural entrepreneurship in Africa by collaborating with local and international incubators, businesses, institutions and partners. Création Africa will operate under the oversight of Team France, ensuring effective governance and strategic guidance.
For this project, a partnership with the South African incubator UVU Africa has been established to implement and oversee both the mentoring phase and the incubation program. With their substantial experience in scaling up startups, they bring valuable expertise to the initiative.
Sectors
The Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) comprise a wide range of sectors that drive both cultural and economic growth, including but not limited to the following:
- Visual and Performing Arts: Painting, sculpture, photography, and other visual arts; theatre, dance, circus, and live performances.
- Music: Composition, production, performance, and distribution of music.
- Film and Television: Production, direction, distribution, and related audiovisual services.
- Design and Craft: Graphic design, industrial design, and artisanal crafts.
- Fashion: Apparel, accessories, and related industries.
- Animation, Gaming, and Interactive Media: Animation, video games, software, and immersive or interactive experiences.
- Digital Media: Digital content creation, online platforms, and social media production.
- Creative and Cultural Promotion Spaces: Festivals, events, creative hubs, and community spaces that support, present, or promote artists and creative industries.
- Publishing: Books, magazines, newspapers, and other print or digital publications.
- Architecture: Architectural design, urban planning, and related services.
- Cultural Heritage: Museums, archives, preservation, restoration, and heritage management.
Grant
- The 15 projects selected will receive financial support from the French Institute of South Africa as a leverage effect to scale up their businesses.
- The amount of the support, from €15,000 to €30,000 disbursed will be determined by the incubator and the jury based on the specific needs and potential outlined by the entrepreneurs to scale up.
Eligibility
The application is open to all entrepreneurs within the Cultural and Creative Industries from South Africa, Lesotho and Malawi.
Applicants must:
- Be over 18 years old.
- Be a resident of South Africa, Lesotho or Malawi.
- Business must be managed and/or run by the owner (entrepreneur).
- Business must be an existing business which is registered within South Africa, Lesotho or Malawi.
- Participants are required to be available and committed for the full duration of the mentorship and incubation programmes, including taking any necessary time off from their business obligations.
Selection Criteria
To increase your chances of being shortlisted for the Création Africa project, your project should align with the following criteria:
- Creative and Innovative company.
- Have been in existence for at least 2 years.
- Have a potential to generate revenue and be scalable.
- Have attainable and realistic objectives with a clear long-term vision and business model.
Application
You must be available for these dates:
- Presentation by the short-listed applicants to the Jury: 19 to 23 January 2026
- Announcement of selected 50 entrepreneurs: 26 to 29 January 2026
- Intensive mentorship program: 2 February to 20 March 2026
- Pitch sessions: End March 2026
- Incubation program: 6 April to 9 October 2026
- Immersion program: Between October and November 2026.
For more information, visit Creation Africa.
