Through the example of HSBC’s cultural exchange programme, Trade Forum looks at how corporate investment in the creative industries is driving business success and opportunity. For artists, producers and designers from emerging markets, corporate social responsibility and sponsorship programmes by multinational companies are opening the doors to global audiences.

ITC plays a significant role in building capacity towards the export of creative products, particularly crafts, from developing and transition countries. ITC’s assistance focuses on facilitating market access through new technologies and streamlining supply chains; supporting the creative sector by promoting trade opportunities and enhancing export competitiveness; as well as by encouraging the integration of the cultural dimension into national trade development policies.

How a fashion brand with no experience in development changed the lives of a group of marginalized women in rural Cameroon.

TF: What are the biggest challenges in producing a collection from Africa?
IVF: The first challenge is in supplying the group of women with the opportunity to receive on-the-job training in production, so they can become self-sufficient. Their poverty is not just material but also about a lack of know-how. Through this project they are given the possibility to acquire new skills and this is the first step towards enabling them to find their own way to autonomy. I hope that one day an entire bag will be tagged as “Made in Africa”.

 “Ethical” and “sustainable” have made it onto the agenda of the luxury fashion industry. This growing awareness among high-profile designers and the media in developed countries is setting trends that will reverberate from the catwalks to workers in emerging markets. While there is still progress to be made, increasing consumer awareness and demand are making the long-term gains for sustainable fashion optimistic.

As the country’s reputation for producing talent like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff attests, Jamaica is synonymous with creativity. The creative sector now accounts for 5.2 per cent of Jamaica’s gross domestic product – which is more than the country’s traditional mining sector.