“The Ghanaian creative sector is in need of a representation revolution
if artists are to come into their full potential”, he said. “Many
artists, whether musicians, fine artists, poets,
cartoonists, sculptors etc. fall short of their long term goals because
of a lack of decisive management that really complements talent and
leads to longevity in their chosen crafts.”
Ashun who is
well-recognized as a broadcaster and consummate media professional, now
takes on the role of overseeing the operations of
Africa 1 Media,
a professional services firm known for empowering fresh talent in
Africa’s creative and sporting sector through business strategy and
legal counsel, in Ghana. With many years’ experience of engaging
with Ghana’s creative and media space, he lends his wealth of expertise
towards developing up and coming creative talent in Ghana.
Ashun’s comments come at
a time when many Ghanaian artists and sporting talents bemoan the
apparent glass ceiling within their respective industries due to a lack
of management and real strategic guidance. Talent
management is a human resource necessity which prompted a research report on talent strategy from
Bersin by Deloitte.
The report states that, at least half of organisations at the highest
level of effectiveness at business outcomes
have an established talent strategy. By contrast, of those
organisations rated least effective at business outcomes, between 70%
and 80% lack a talent strategy.[1]
Ashun affirms this by
stating that, people often fail to think of the arts as credible
business ventures. “Talents in the creative space deserve the same level
of strategic and professional guidance being delivered
to their peers in the corporate world towards productivity and
profitability”, he said.
As the Country Director for
Africa 1 Media, Benny Ashun leads a dynamic team that is empowering
artists and sports professionals through world class management
services. Ashun expressed hope that more artists would seek out proper
management that is linked to business strategy in
order to compete on the world stage.
Africa 1 Media
(A1M) represents artists such as Sarkodie, Edem, Bisa Kdei, and
Akwaboah amongst others. As part of its initiatives towards empowering
the creative sector
in Ghana are a series of upcoming thought leadership seminars to
support artists in developing themselves into successful brands.
