The British Council in Pakistan and School of Leadership are set to launch the DICE (Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies) Pakistan Fellowship Programme. The launch ceremony took place on Monday 10 December in Karachi. DICE is a multi-year project and shall be rolled outin five priority countries; Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia, Brazil and the UK.
According to a UNESCO Report, in 2013 the creative economy employed nearly 30 million people worldwide and generated $2.25 trillion in revenue (or 3 percent of the world’s GDP). This is substantially more than global telecommunications ($1.57 trillion) and greater than the GDP of India, Russia, or Canada.
600 creative and social enterprise leaders from 12 cities across the countrywill benefit from the6-month fellowship. The aim is to provide these individuals with unique experiences that are not typically available to enterprises at their level. These experiences are aimed at capacity building, mentoring and support within the ecosystem to support their professional development, and help them become more commercially viable and socially conscious. The event was attended by social entrepreneurs, creative enterprise leaders, bloggers, media personnel, development and corporate professionals.
Talha Chishti from the British Council in Pakistan, speaking at the Launch Event said “Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies (DICE) is an ambitious program that supports the development of creative and social enterprises in the UK and five key emerging economies, aiming to foster inclusive growth and progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Draws upon UK’s expertise in creative and social economies, DICE use an innovative, cross-sectorial approach to promote and develop enterprise”
The DICE Fellowship shall be a 6-month long programme with 14 cohorts per year. It will be designed to help creative social entrepreneurs sustain their business and multiply their impact. Emerging economies must raise their thinking beyond traditional business models to legislate and promote social and creative enterprises differently. It includes facilitating entrepreneurs to raise capital to start out or scale up.