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Why Jean-Marie Cordaro believes in Africa’s creative potential
As the creator economy becomes one of the driving forces of the 21st century, Africa is emerging as a continent that is young, connected, and full of creative energy.
Where many still see an “emerging market,” Jean-Marie Cordaro sees a global transformation in progress.
The founder of Bonzai.pro is convinced that the future of digital creation will not only happen in San Francisco, Paris, or Dubai, but also across African cities where a new generation of creators is ready to take its place.
“Africa doesn’t lack creativity. It lacks the infrastructure to support it.”
Jean-Marie Cordaro: a global and human vision
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Jean-Marie Cordaro was a creator himself.
For more than fourteen years, he produced content, taught, and built communities.
This experience taught him something essential: talent is universal, but opportunity is not.
Wherever he talks with creators, the same needs come up again and again:
- monetising their work easily,
- learning content creation and business skills,
- building audiences without depending on algorithms,
- earning a living from their passion while staying authentic.
On the African continent, those needs are amplified by a lack of reliable and accessible tools.
International payment systems are complex, many platforms don’t support local currencies, and creators often depend on global companies that limit their autonomy.
That’s why JM Cordaro designed Bonzai not just as a piece of software, but as a tool for empowerment.
Africa: a continent of creators
Africa is the youngest continent on Earth, more than 60% of its population is under 25.
This generation was born digital: connected, curious, and bursting with creative ideas.
From design to music, video, digital art, e-learning, and fashion, African creators are shaping a new, distinctive voice, authentic, bold, and culturally rooted.
For Jean-Marie Cordaro, that authenticity is Africa’s biggest strength.
“Africa has what the rest of the world has lost: genuine creativity, grounded in real life and collective values.”
The problem isn’t a lack of talent, but of infrastructure.
With the right tools, this creative force could become one of the strongest engines of the global digital economy.
Bonzai: building tools for creative sovereignty
Through Bonzai.pro, Jean-Marie Cordaro wants to offer an alternative to the closed systems of global tech platforms.
Bonzai allows creators to host digital products, accept payments, and manage their communities, all in one place, with full ownership of their data.
That model is particularly relevant in Africa, where creators often face barriers to international banking and online payment systems.
With its built-in Bonzai-Pay system, the platform makes direct monetisation simple and fast while maintaining the user’s financial independence.
An African creator can sell a course, an e-book, or a service to a global audience while staying in control of their revenue and their brand.
“Our mission is to give African creators the same tools as everyone else, without forcing them to leave their ecosystem.”
A human goal before an economic one
Jean-Marie Cordaro doesn’t talk about Africa as an investor looking for growth.
He speaks as a builder.
For him, Africa’s value is not only economic, it’s human.
Its youth has energy, adaptability, and resilience rarely found elsewhere.
What it lacks is access and recognition.
“Africa’s creative potential is enormous. What’s missing are the structures that can help transform ideas into real opportunities.”
That belief aligns perfectly with Bonzai’s global mission: to humanise the creator economy and make technology serve people instead of controlling them.
Africa as the future model of the creator economy
What’s happening in Africa goes far beyond digital culture.
The continent is living through an entrepreneurial revolution: small businesses and freelancers are emerging every day across creation, education, fashion, and technology.
This movement reflects Jean-Marie Cordaro’s broader vision, a decentralised economy built on individuals who create their own work, manage their own payments, and generate local impact with global reach.
Bonzai isn’t there to impose a Western model.
It adapts to local realities: currencies, languages, connectivity, and access to learning.
It’s technology that fits human needs, not the other way around.
“The future of creation is diversity. Africa embodies that better than anyone.”
Technology and transmission working together
For Jean-Marie Cordaro, technology alone is not enough.
It must go hand in hand with education and mentorship.
That’s why Bonzai is not just a platform, it’s also a learning space, filled with guides, resources, and practical examples.
Its purpose is twofold:
- help creators monetise their knowledge,
- teach them how to build sustainable businesses.
This approach is crucial for Africa, where many talented young people have strong creative potential but limited access to business education.
“You don’t build a creative economy with code alone. You build it with values and vision.”
Africa as a digital laboratory
Far from outdated stereotypes, Cordaro sees Africa as a laboratory of the digital future.
Millions of young Africans are already testing new hybrid models, local freelancing, mobile-based e-commerce, community influence, self-taught learning.
These experiments anticipate what’s coming worldwide: more flexibility, more independence, and less hierarchy.
Bonzai fits perfectly into this movement, a flexible, human-centred infrastructure designed to adapt to how people actually work and create.
A conviction that defines his mission
For Jean-Marie Cordaro, expanding in Africa isn’t a marketing move.
It’s the natural continuation of his mission: to make the digital creator economy more human and more accessible.
He doesn’t see Africa as a place to exploit, but as a partner in building a fairer system, one where creators can live from their talent without depending on global monopolies.
“Africa represents the future of a human economy, one built on creation, connection, and resilience.”
Conclusion
Jean-Marie Cordaro’s belief in Africa’s creative potential isn’t naive optimism.
It’s grounded in a realistic understanding of global change:
a young population, expanding connectivity, and a growing desire to turn creativity into independence.
With Bonzai, he offers a concrete solution, a clear, ethical, and human platform that lets creators everywhere transform their knowledge into value.
Africa isn’t just a “market” for Bonzai.
It’s a partner in the future, a source of innovation, a model of community, and a driving force for the next phase of the global creator economy.
Because, as Jean-Marie Cordaro likes to remind, the world’s most powerful technology will always be the human spirit behind it.