ÀLKÉ, a pan-African cultural institution founded by Lulu Shabell, has outlined what it described as a long-term institutional framework to protect African cultural intelligence, strengthen intellectual property (IP) ownership and build infrastructure to scale the continent’s creative economy.

The announcement, dated 17 June 2026 and issued from Nairobi and Cape Town, comes as global creative trade continues to expand. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) data cited in the statement shows creative services exports reached $1.4 trillion (about KES 181.3 trillion) in 2022, while creative goods exports totalled $713 billion (about KES 92.0 trillion). Developing countries increased their share of global creative services exports from 10% in 2010 to 20% in 2022, according to UNCTAD.

ÀLKÉ pointed to Africa’s relatively small position in this market. It cited estimates that Africa’s share of the global creative economy stood at about 1.5% in 2022, up from 1% in 2018, and that the continent exported $2.4 billion (about KES 309.9 billion) in creative goods and $4 billion (about KES 516.5 billion) in creative services in 2022.

ÀLKÉ said its model is intended to narrow that gap by “creating mechanisms that support ownership, licensing, enterprise development, and long-term capital formation.” It also referenced BCG projections cited in an original essay, stating that with structural investment Africa’s creative economy could generate between $150 billion and $160 billion annually by 2030 (about KES 19.4 trillion to KES 20.7 trillion per year).

“Africa has always been a source of cultural innovation, but too often the systems that turn that innovation into lasting economic value are built elsewhere,” said Lulu Shabell, Founder of ÀLKÉ. “ÀLKÉ exists to help change that by building institutions that protect authorship, support enterprise, and create durable economic benefit from African cultural intelligence.”

The institution described itself as an entity focused on preserving indigenous design knowledge, supporting African creative enterprises and establishing structures that allow value generated by African cultural expression to remain with African communities. Its stated areas of work include preserving and commercialising indigenous knowledge systems, supporting creative ventures with “scale-ready infrastructure,” and creating financial structures aimed at compounding value “across generations,” according to the statement.

The announcement also connected the framework to Kenya’s legal and policy environment. ÀLKÉ cited provisions in Kenya’s Constitution that recognise culture as a foundation of the nation, call for promotion of IP rights, and require legislation to ensure communities receive compensation or royalties for the use of their cultures and cultural heritage. It further referenced the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Swakopmund Protocol, which addresses protection of traditional knowledge and expressions of folklore against misappropriation, misuse and unlawful exploitation.

For Kenya’s business landscape, the focus on IP ownership and licensing speaks to a longstanding challenge in the creative sector: creators and communities often struggle to convert cultural production into bankable assets and predictable revenue streams. If institutions can standardise documentation, rights management and licensing pathways, stakeholders say it could improve investability for creative ventures, increase export readiness and support formalisation—areas that matter as Kenya positions itself as a regional hub for cultural production, design and digital content.

ÀLKÉ said it will continue developing what it termed its educational framework, venture studio model, craft preservation strategy and endowment structure, with additional announcements planned.