South African artists and creative professionals might feel side-lined when it comes to the world of business, but according to Elaine Rumboll, Director of Executive Education at the UCT Graduate School of Business, they have a central role to play in the economic development of the country.

“Looking at the bigger picture, these creative professionals are at the leading edge when it comes to innovation. Innovation in turn leads to growth and if this country does not support its artists then we are essentially hindering our economic development,” said Rumboll recently.

To underline the critical importance of creatives and their success to economic development, new developments in the European Union show that there is globally a push to support creatives. This May the EU launched a Green Paper on boosting cultural and creative industries as part of efforts to accelerate economic growth. Arts, cultural heritage, film, music, publishing, design and new media are part of a growing industry which accounts for 2.6% of Europe's GDP but the full potential of the sector has yet to be unlocked, according to the EU.

The untapped economic potential is also here in South Africa, says Rumboll, and in response to the need to give creatives the tools for success, the UCT GSB is offering these professionals significant business skills with a unique course, Business Acumen for Artists, this August.

The course, which has been oversubscribed for the past three years, is the first and only course offered by a business school to empower creative professionals to manage their talents and businesses for sustainable financial success. The thirteen-week intensive course allows these professionals to continue to work while learning, as they have the chance to put what they have learnt into practice by working on a personal project for their own business.

As this course is a personal passion for Rumboll, it has been introduced as the CSI initiative for the business school and is therefore being offered at a heavily discounted rate.

“It is important for creative professionals to have a mindshift when it comes to business and for them to realise that value is not only what you create, it is also what is perceived in the eye of the buyer and what they would be willing to pay for your work,” said Rumboll.

The programme covers all aspects of business including pitching, negotiating, project management, marketing and financial acumen. It also delves into intellectual property laws and web-based strategies for low-cost, high-impact marketing.

Each module is delivered by a professional in their respective field such as Dave Duarte, a leading social media expert, leadership specialist Liz De Wet and artist Brendan Bell Roberts. The GSB Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship's Jacqui Kew takes an in-depth look at finance from the basics of drawing up a budget to the nitty-gritty of how to fill out a tax form.