Creative Industry

CEDF Opens Phase 2 Loan Applications for Nigerian Creatives & Entrepreneurs

Published

1 year ago

August 24, 2025

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy has officially launched Phase 2 of the Creative Economy Development Fund (CEDF).
This is a bold national initiative designed to accelerate Nigeria’s creative and cultural industries by providing access to finance, skills, and market opportunities.

Building on the success of Phase 1, which saw thousands of Nigerian creatives and entrepreneurs apply for support, Phase 2 expands both the scope and scale of the Fund. This phase is specifically targeted at businesses and enterprises seeking to unlock growth, scale innovation, and create sustainable jobs in Nigeria’s creative economy.

The CEDF sits at the heart of Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda, providing the financial backbone for transforming the country’s creative assets into engines of inclusive economic growth. Phase 2 introduces a streamlined application process through the official portal . The platform now features an intuitive and simplified new interface, ensuring that applicants can easily navigate funding opportunities, submit proposals, and track their application status without unnecessary hurdles. Beyond funding access, the portal provides real-time updates, resource materials, and a transparent process to strengthen trust and accountability.

This Phase 2 Call prioritizes proposals from businesses seeking funding of up to $100,000. The Fund is open across multiple creative sub-sectors, reflecting the diversity of Nigeria’s creative economy, including Film, Television, and Animation, Gaming, XR, and Interactive Media, Music and Entertainment, Literature and Publishing, Visual Arts and Crafts, Fashion and Design, Culinary Arts and Gastronomy, Tourism, Heritage, and Cultural Experiences, ensuring that no subsector is left behind in Nigeria’s creative renaissance.

Phase 2 is designed to fuel innovation, create jobs, strengthen SMEs and MSMEs, drive exports, and institutionalize growth through digital tracking and reporting tools. The Fund aims to support businesses that leverage creativity and technology to deliver new cultural products and services, expand the employment base of the creative economy, provide financial lifelines to entrepreneurs, position Nigerian creative content and cultural goods as competitive exports, and embed mechanisms for monitoring, accountability, and sustainability.

The launch of Phase 2 of the CEDF marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s creative economy development, and the Ministry encourages all eligible businesses and enterprises to apply for funding and support.
Apply through the official portal www.cedf.gov.ng.

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Creative Industry

NTDA, LEXLUC Sign MoU to Unlock Nigeria’s Domestic Tourism Potential

Published

10 hours ago

October 23, 2026

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

The Nigerian Tourism Development Authority (NTDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LEXLUC Global Services and Tours Ltd. to promote domestic tourism, cultural heritage and destination awareness across Nigeria.

The agreement establishes a framework for implementing and expanding the Meet My Town, Know My State tourism initiative, which aims to encourage Nigerians to explore destinations within the country, learn about their cultural heritage and support greater community participation in tourism.

Speaking at the signing, Chief Executive Officer of LEXLUC Global Services and Tours Ltd., Mr Oluwole Ajayi, said the initiative was developed to help Nigeria harness its tourism potential, attract investment and create more opportunities within the sector.

“Tourism is number one employer worldwide. Whether we like it or not, we have to key into it and make sure it becomes the number one employer in Nigeria, too,” Ajayi said.

He also referenced plans for a proposed West African Jollof Rice Championship and Tourism Festival, which he said could complement the initiative’s broader objectives. The proposed event is expected to form part of future tourism activities, subject to the necessary planning and approvals.

Ajayi expressed confidence that the collaboration with NTDA would help advance the initiative and attract investors to Nigeria’s tourism industry.

Director-General of NTDA, Mr Ola Awakan, said the partnership alignes with the authority’s mandate to promote and develop tourism, noting that collaboration with the private sector was important to the sector’s growth.

“It’s a laudable project. We are going to give you national and institutional backing. You are also helping us achieve our mandate, and we are helping you to bring your idea to fruition. So, it is a win-win situation. All of this is in the interest of Nigeria,” Awakan said.

He commended Ajayi for sustaining the initiative and reaffirmed NTDA’s commitment to supporting its objectives within the authority’s mandate.

The Meet My Town, Know My State initiative is designed to raise awareness of Nigeria’s destinations, promote cultural heritage and encourage domestic travel. Its activities may include organised tours, tourism education, awareness campaigns, events and stakeholder engagements across the country.

Under the MoU, LEXLUC will coordinate and implement approved activities, develop tourism packages, mobilise sponsorship and partnerships, and report on progress. NTDA will provide relevant tourism information, institutional coordination, policy guidance and support for stakeholder engagement, subject to its mandate and applicable approval processes.

The signing was coordinated by Head of Legal Services at NTDA, Olufunke Soleye, and Head of Legal at LEXLUC, Mary Oluwatoyin Noibi-Edoze. Director of the Marketing and Promotions Department at NTDA, Mr Olufemi Akinyele, was also present alongside staff members of the department.

The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation between the two organisations to expand awareness of Nigeria’s tourism offerings and encourage greater participation in domestic tourism.

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