By 2027, the Nigerian creative economy is expected to employ two million people, according to plans released by Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy.
She also disclosed that a financial structure for the sector’s growth is scheduled to be introduced by the government.
Musawa emphasized cooperation with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) for fundraising and capacity building on Wednesday during an interactive session with the group in Abuja.
Through this collaboration, the ministry would be able to add $100 billion to Nigeria’s GDP by 2030.
According to her,“With the right funding mechanism, I think we can do so much to help Nigeria out of the doldrums by creating at least two million jobs from the creative sector value chain by 2027.
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“This is something that we want to tap into, especially now that the whole world is interested in the Nigerian content.”
“The government will work towards producing a conducive environment that encourages growth and private investment to ensure that Nigeria’s cultural influence transcends borders as a brand, and unites Nigerians across all initiatives.”
“We need to prove to the administration that the ecosystem can bring value down to the grassroots.”
“So, funding for our programs is very key and I would love to share a number of these initiatives and programs with you to see where we can pull the funds from,”
In his address, Dr. Ikenna Nwosu, the NESG facilitator for Tourism, Hospitality, Entertainment, the Creative Economy, and Sports stated that the group is committed to offering technical support to the ministry and facilitating the attraction of funding.
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He also conveyed the group’s willingness to work with the ministry on revising the National Policy on the Creative Industry and to provide training for the ministry’s staff in effective data-gathering techniques.
Nigeria’s creative industry has grown beyond imagination in recent years mainly powered by music (Afrobeat) and movies (Nollywood). Nigerian music artists have seen their songs top charts across the world raking in billions in online streams.
Also, the Nigerian movie industry (Nollywood) has become the most productive movie industry only behind India’s Bollywood in terms of movies produced yearly.
The growth in the creative industry in recent times is fuelled by Nigeria’s huge young population and the multicultural setting of the nation. Having over 70% of its 210 million population below 30 years and with about 250 tribes and 500 languages makes it a melting pot of cultures which is the perfect recipe for creativity to thrive.
