Creative industries as an engine of ASEAN economic growth: The business case for ACE-CI

When I built a communications consultancy from the ground up, the raw material was never just strategy or capital; it was creativity. The ability to craft narratives, design messages that move people, and translate ideas across cultures and markets is what creates real value. That experience shaped a conviction I bring into every boardroom and policy conversation: creativity is not a soft skill; it is an economic force. This is precisely why the endorsement of the ASEAN Center of Excellence for Creative Industries (ACE-CI) by ASEAN Economic Leaders is significant for the region’s business community.

I write this from my perspective within the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and ongoing private sector discussions shaping the 2026 ASEAN Chairship. The role of business is not merely to observe, but to actively help design and deliver initiatives that generate measurable economic outcomes. ACE-CI is one such initiative, one whose value proposition is grounded in real opportunities for enterprise growth, market expansion, and investment.

THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE NARRATIVE
Let me put this in terms any CEO would appreciate.

The global creative economy is valued at over $2.25 trillion and continues to outpace many traditional industries in growth. Across ASEAN, creative sectors — including film, animation, gaming, design, fashion, digital media, and music — are emerging as significant and rapidly expanding contributors to national economies.

The Philippines offers a powerful case in point. According to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country’s creative industry-related activities reached P2.12 trillion in 2025, up 6.9% from the previous year, and now account for 7.6% of national GDP — the sector’s largest share on record. That trajectory — from 7.2% in 2018 to 7.6% in 2025, with gross value added nearly doubling over the same period — is not incremental growth. It is a sector coming into its own as a major economic pillar.

The Philippines, through RA 11904 (the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act), is among the first in the region to institutionalize a comprehensive, sector-wide framework for creative industry development. This positions the country not only to compete, but to help shape the direction of the region’s creative economy.

As Senior Adviser on the Creative Economy of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines, in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), I helped shape the Concept Note that underpinned the Philippines’ positioning as host of the ACE-CI, articulating its vision and value proposition at the regional level.

Yet the region’s creative potential remains underutilized. As reflected in MAP’s policy recommendations to ASEAN-BAC Philippines, the Philippine private sector is already well-positioned and ready to act. What has been lacking is a regional mechanism to facilitate co-production, cross-border IP commercialization, and market integration. ACE-CI is intended to help address this gap. Its proposed core functions, a Policy and Research Hub, a Creative Incubation and Technology Lab, and a Market Development Platform, would help establish the enabling infrastructure for businesses to scale creative enterprises across ASEAN’s market of over 700 million consumers. While the Center’s institutional framework continues to be refined following the recent ASEAN-UK Symposium, its strategic direction is taking shape, supported by growing regional alignment and momentum.

EMPOWERING THE ENTERPRISES THAT DRIVE ASEAN
I have long held the view that the true engine of any economy lies in its entrepreneurs. Across the ASEAN, MSMEs account for 97% of all enterprises and play a central role in driving growth and innovation. In the creative sector, these enterprises, independent game studios, fashion designers, content creators, and craft cooperatives, are uniquely positioned to benefit from ACE-CI’s cross-border infrastructure. They possess world-class talent, yet often face constraints in accessing regional markets, navigating IP protection, and securing financing tailored to creative industries.

The programs being developed for ACE-CI are designed to address these barriers. Through startup incubation, B2B match-making, export readiness programs, and partnerships with impact investors and development finance institutions, ACE-CI is positioned to function as a practical marketplace and accelerator, rather than a purely research-driven platform. I have seen too many regional initiatives that are long on vision but short on execution. This one is being designed with delivery in mind.

For MAP members and Philippine corporations, the opportunities are immediate and actionable: sponsorship of regional creative expos and trade missions, co-investment in creative technology ventures, partnerships with ASEAN content platforms, and participation in a proposed ASEAN-wide benchmarking framework for creative industry competitiveness, intended to track policy readiness, talent density, innovation output, and market access across the region.

OUR GREATEST ASSET: PEOPLE
In three decades of building businesses, I have never encountered a competitive advantage more durable than talent. The Philippines’ edge in creative industries rests on its people — a young, English-proficient, digitally literate, and culturally diverse workforce that has powered our BPO industry, animation studios, and music exports to global audiences. ACE-CI’s proposed initiatives on talent development and innovation, including capacity-building programs, regional exchanges, and support for creative entrepreneurship, digital skills, and IP commercialization, can build directly on this human capital advantage.

For the business community, this translates into a deeper and more capable talent pipeline. MAP has consistently advocated skills development and workforce readiness across the six sectors identified in its ASEAN Chairship policy paper. ACE-CI can support this agenda by enabling regional pathways for upskilling creative professionals — equipping them with the digital, commercial, and managerial competencies that modern enterprises demand. This is particularly significant in sectors where Filipino talent has already demonstrated global competitiveness, including animation, game development, music production, and digital services.

FROM CHAIRSHIP RHETORIC TO ECONOMIC RESULTS
ACE-CI aligns closely with the ASEAN-BAC Philippines Strategic Pillars, People, Planet, Platform, and Productivity, and supports MAP’s policy recommendations across key priority sectors, particularly Trade and Creative Industries; ICT and Digital Transformation; and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Rather than a peripheral initiative, ACE-CI represents a strategic platform that contributes directly to the broader economic agenda being advanced under the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairship.

MAP’s policy paper is clear: the 2026 Chairship must “turn themes into pilots” and “measure and communicate quick wins.” I appreciate that language because it reflects a strong commitment to accountability. ACE-CI has the potential to be exactly that kind of deliverable. ASEAN leaders are expected to endorse its establishment at the November 2026 Summit, and with the institutional framework currently being finalized, the Center could be operational by 2027, generating early, tangible outcomes, such as MOUs, initial incubation cohorts, regional creative expos, and the development of benchmarking tools.

I did not build a company, engage in public service, and invest years in MAP’s work to see the Philippines settle for ceremonial wins. ACE-CI is not an abstract policy construct; it is emerging as an investable and actionable platform that can convert ASEAN’s creative potential into real business value: jobs, enterprises, exports, and shared prosperity across a region of over 700 million people. The business community must step forward now, while the architecture is still being shaped, and our voice can help define it. Because when the creative economy thrives, enterprises grow, talent flourishes, and the ASEAN’s promise of inclusive prosperity moves from aspiration to reality.

Junie S. Del Mundo is the chair of the MAP Trade, Investments and Tourism Committee, the vice-chair of the MAP International Relations Committee, and chief executive of The EON Group.

map@map.org.ph

junie.delmundo@eon.com.ph