Creative economy 2030: imagining and delivering a robust, creative, inclusive, and sustainable recovery

The revival of the creative economy will be critical for ensuring an inclusive recovery that boosts small enterprises and employment for vulnerable groups in Asia’s rural and urban areas. Before the COVID-19 crisis, the creative economy—broadly encompassing knowledge-based economic activities underpinning the creative and cultural sectors and bridging art, culture, technology, and business—was on pace to account for 10% of global gross domestic product by 2030. However, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the informal workers that drive the creative economy have been hard hit by the pandemic. The revival of the creative economy is critical for realizing an inclusive recovery that boosts MSMEs and employment for women, youth, and other vulnerable groups in Asia and the Pacific’s rural and urban areas.