Helping young African entrepreneurs with the British Council

Led by Dr Adeyinka Adewale, the Africa Research Centre at Henley Business School has successfully secured a £195,000 grant from the British Council to lead the next phase of the SoCreative Programme, a global project designed to strengthen entrepreneurial capability, innovation and sustainable growth for creative industries.

The funding will support the design and delivery of three major online courses aimed at young creatives and innovative entrepreneurs. Practical and research-informed, the courses will provide high-quality, accessible learning for emerging talent across Africa and other regions where the British Council operates.

The award builds on the success 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, around 40,000 learners have accessed these courses which are used in a number of partner universities across Africa. The next phase of the project will continue and expand on this work, extending the programme’s reach beyond Africa for the first time.

Dr Adeyinka Adewale, Associate Professor of Leadership Ethics and Entrepreneurship, said:

“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.”

Our expertise is growing in Africa-focused entrepreneurship, innovation, impact-oriented pedagogy and digital learning design, with the grant highlighting the Africa Research Centre’s diverse ability to translate research and academic partnerships into scalable educational and developmental impact.