President John Dramani Mahama has announced a major financial boost for Ghana’s creative industry, unveiling a GH¢40 million government injection to strengthen the sector and position creativity as a key driver of the future economy.
Delivering the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament of Ghana on Friday, February 27, 2026, President Mahama said half of the allocation, GH¢20 million, has been earmarked specifically for Ghana’s struggling film sector.
“Mr Speaker, our tourism and creative arts sector has a lot to offer. Our economy will not be built only by traditional sectors, but also by human creativity.”
President Mahama explained that as automation and artificial intelligence increasingly disrupt traditional jobs, creative industries will play a critical role in absorbing displaced workers.
“Human creativity sectors will absorb those people who will be displaced by the shortfall created by the new AI technologies being rolled out,” he added.
Highlighting the growing global influence of Ghanaian creatives, the President praised content creators who are leveraging digital and new media platforms to project the country’s image beyond its borders.
“Creatives using the new media are giving our nation greater prominence than we could have achieved through any first-class traditional media outlet,” he said.
To harness this momentum, President Mahama announced that the GH¢20 million allocation to the film sector will support all major strands of Ghana’s movie industry, including Kumawood and Ghallywood.
“This is going to the film sector to support Kumawood, Ghallywood, and all the ‘woods’,” he said.
In addition, the President revealed that another GH¢20 million has been set aside for other creative sub-sectors, expressing confidence that the funding will significantly boost growth across the industry.
“Mr Speaker, another 20 million has been given for the other creative sectors. I believe this fair injection of money will boost our creative sectors,” he stated.
“I wish to assure the creative industry and the Ministry of Tourism that I will be your personal ambassador for the promotion of tourism and the creative sector,” he noted.
About the Author
