The Leaders in Motion Academy (LiMA) is one of South Africa’s first digital creative skills academies and production hubs. Our mission is to normalise access to digital creative (technical) and business skills for township-based creative entrepreneurs and to connect them to markets in Africa and beyond. This is achieved by engaging the full value chain from training and development to entrepreneurship support through our entrepreneurial hub for township creatives– a first for South Africa.
Operate a Hub that unlocks creative excellence and stimulates township economies by creating access for creatives in the local and global markets and prepare them to be leaders in the digital creative space.
Normalise access for emerging township based creatives by equipping them with technical skills, business support, and industry access.
LiMA has built its operations on 3 pillars, namely: Digital creative and business skills, enterprise incubation and content production. All of these pillars are underpinned by its role as a platform for creative entrepreneurs to grow and succeed. The 3 pillars entail:
LiMA has a Creative Digital Skills Entrepreneurship Academy which provides technical production and business skills to the emerging township- based creatives. The courses are MICT Seta accredited, with University of Pretoria certified entrepreneurship programmes.
LiMA has a Business Incubation Programme for Creatives which provides tailored learning sessions, market access facilitation, mentoring and coaching, business start-up support services and networking opportunities to produce thriving creative SMMEs. This incubation business line is run in partnership with the South African Creative Industries Incubator, South Africa’s first business incubator for the creative sector.
LiMA is a one-stop township advertising agency that provides digital content production services for private and public sector clients. LIMA provides creative, strategic, and technical development of screen-based products and services. We create, publish, and distribute content for targeted audiences. Our content production services also extend to marketing, hosting events/activations, and creating Workplace Creativity and Wellness Programmes. As a leader in understanding how to use creativity and creative processes to unlock human potential, LiMA’s workplace creativity and wellness programmes integrate its experience and track record in creative thinking, critical thinking ability and stress reduction interventions for the workplace.
Adequately investing in the creative industry does not just benefit this industry on its own. In today’s changing work environment and with the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, the majority of content platforms are digital. Software experience and programming skills need to be complemented by digital creative skills to serve the needs of the branding, storytelling and targeted experiences now central to marketing and client engagement. The content industry relies on creative work such as copywriting, graphics, audio productions, photo essays, music, animation, interactive apps, games, podcasts, infographics, virtual reality and video, to name a few. In addition to this, the evolving work environment requires an understanding of entrepreneurship and the business skills to sustain and develop an enterprise.
According to Prof Richard Haines, CEO of the SA Cultural Observatory, culture and creativity are one of the major “currencies” of the Fourth Industrial revolution. Itai Palti, Director of Centric Labs agrees stating that, “the modern economies that will undergo a fourth industrial revolution will not be those that worship machines but those that support human creativity.” Creativity and the output of creative content is fast becoming one of the most valuable workplace and business skills of the future. Without an understanding, nurturing and skilling the cultural and creative industries in our economy, South Africa runs the risk of skilling our creative and multi-talented youth for jobs that will no longer exist in the next twenty years. Alternatively, South Africa could be on the cutting edge of empowering a workforce of young, emerging creatives that will find employment and innovate new businesses in the vast digital networks and markets that cross borders, the holders of the “currency” of the future.
LiMA is targeting township-based creatives with a passion for storytelling. In the screenings, we have done of potential participants to date we have unearthed incredible stories of perseverance from emerging creatives who are committed to pursuing their craft despite insurmountable odds. Our mission is #NormalisingAccess, which allows these talented young people to be empowered with accredited skills and mentored into a position where they can run sustainable creative enterprises.
LiMA provides access to equipment, facilities, accredited skills and industry linked mentorships.