Helping young African entrepreneurs with the British Council

Led by Dr Adeyinka Adewale, the Africa Research Centre at Henley Business School has secured a £195,000 grant from the British Council to deliver the next phase of the SoCreative Programme, a global initiative focused on strengthening entrepreneurial capability, innovation and sustainable growth within the creative industries.

This second phase of the SoCreative project will fund the development and delivery of three substantial online courses aimed at young creatives and forward thinking entrepreneurs. Grounded in both practical application and academic research, the courses will offer high-quality, accessible learning opportunities for emerging talent across Africa, as well as in other regions where the British Council operates.

SoCreative is part of the British Council’s wider Creative Economy programme, which aims to support ecosystems where young entrepreneurs can thrive by building skills, knowledge and networks across the creative sector. Their free, self-paced courses are designed to guide participants through their business journey, covering areas such as idea development, branding, finance, leadership and social impact, while also connecting learners to further opportunities including mentoring, coaching and business incubation.

The new award builds on the achievements of the first phase of the British Council’s SoCreative eLearning course, which was also led by the Africa Research Centre. Over the past four years, approximately 40,000 learners have engaged with these courses, which are now embedded within a number of partner universities across Africa. This next stage of the project will both continue and broaden that work, extending the programme’s reach beyond Africa for the first time and into a more global audience.

Dr Adeyinka Adewale, Associate Professor of Leadership Ethics and Entrepreneurship and Director of the Africa Research Centre at Henley Business School said about the project:

“Creative industries hold enormous promise for innovation, enterprise and job creation, and these new courses will help equip young creatives across Africa and around the world with the knowledge, tools and confidence to build sustainable ventures and careers. For Henley, it is also a powerful reflection of our commitment to research-led, practice-oriented engagement across Africa.”

Henley’s expertise continues to expand in areas including Africa focused entrepreneurship, innovation, impact driven pedagogy and digital learning design. This latest grant highlights the Africa Research Centre’s strong track record in translating academic research and collaborative partnerships into scalable educational solutions with meaningful developmental impact.

Dr Adeyinka Adewale regularly gives talks at academic conferences in Africa, Europe, the USA and Asia, and sits on the board of a number of organisations and charities in Africa and is an adviser to many small business owners globally.