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FG Launches D30 to Transform Creative, Tourism Investment Landscape

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Joel Ajayi

The Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy has unveiled the D30 Platform as a single-window intelligence hub for Nigeria’s creative and tourism economy, developed in partnership with Cavista Holdings.

Following the launch, investors, businesses and state governments will be able to locate creative clusters, tourism assets, infrastructure gaps and viable opportunities from a single source.

Speaking at the launch, the Honourable Minister, Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa, thanked Cavista Holdings for its partnership in delivering the technology. She said the platform addresses a long-standing constraint in the sector — the absence of reliable, comprehensive data to measure the true scale of opportunities.

According to the Minister, an investor considering a film production facility should be able to see where creative clusters are located and what supporting infrastructure exists.

“D30 is not intended to be another government database that simply accumulates information. Its purpose is to support decisions that help businesses expand, guide investors and enable government to deploy resources more effectively,” she said.

“A state seeking to develop a tourism destination should understand its connectivity and investment needs. A creative entrepreneur should have market intelligence to expand beyond familiar markets.”

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Abdulkarim Ozi Ibrahim, described the unveiling as an important milestone in the Ministry’s efforts to unlock the immense economic potential of Nigeria’s art, culture, tourism and creative industries.

“For government, it represents an opportunity to strengthen evidence-based planning and policymaking. For investors, it provides greater visibility into emerging opportunities, industry clusters and areas requiring investment. For businesses and entrepreneurs, it offers information that can support expansion, competitiveness and better commercial decisions,” he said.

In his remarks, Executive Director and Vice President, Government and External Affairs at Cavista Holdings, Olumide Olayomi, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s tourism and creative economy through credible data and evidence-based planning.

He said D30 will enable government and private sector players to spot viable investment opportunities, close infrastructure gaps and drive growth across the value chain.

“Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage, diverse tourism destinations and vibrant creative community offer enormous potential for jobs and wealth creation, but the sector cannot scale without reliable intelligence to track opportunities, assess needs and measure progress,” Olayomi said.

He added that Cavista fully aligns with the Ministry’s target of generating $100 billion and creating 3 million jobs by 2030, stressing that sustained public-private collaboration is critical to achieving it.

The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, represented by his Technical Assistant, Moses Waniko, pledged the Bureau’s collaboration with the Ministry to strengthen data collection, harmonise methodologies and ensure compliance with national and international statistical standards.

He stated that the success of the platform will depend on the quality, consistency, reliability and comparability of its data, reaffirming NBS’s commitment to producing reliable official statistics to support government, private-sector operators, development partners and researchers.

Special Adviser to the President on Partnerships and Innovation, Imran Garba Duba, thanked all contributors to the successful launch of D30, particularly the Cavista team for their selfless service to the country.

He described the launch as just the beginning, saying:

“D30 will open doors for Nigeria in ways we cannot fathom. Nigeria has so much to show and so much data and we need to work together.”

The D30 Platform is a national data and investment intelligence platform developed by the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy with technology partner Cavista Technologies.

The Ministry is targeting 3 million jobs and $100 billion GDP contribution from the creative and tourism economy by 2030 under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. D30 will provide the intelligence foundation to achieve that.

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Cyclists, Athletes, Fitness Communities others Set for 5th Chaingang MTB Festival in Abuja

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By Joel Ajayi

Cyclists, professional athletes and fitness enthusiasts are set to converge on Abuja for the 5th edition of the Abuja Chaingang Mountain Bike (MTB) Festival and 10th year anniversary of the the club scheduled for November 21–22, 2026, in the Federal Capital Territory.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Chairman of the MTB Festival Organising Committee, Mr Olatunji Olanrewaju, said the event would mark a significant milestone in the development of competitive cycling in Nigeria.

Organised by the Chaingang Cycling Club Abuja in collaboration with the Cycling Federation of Nigeria (CFN), the festival will introduce Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) and Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) race courses, alongside the unveiling of the Sunrise Hills MTB Course in Asokoro, bordering Guzape.

The organisers said the new courses feature natural terrain, steep climbs, rocky descents, switchbacks and panoramic ridgelines designed to challenge riders and promote competitive mountain biking.

The festival, adopted as Nigeria’s national qualifier for international mountain biking competitions, will provide cyclists with opportunities to compete for qualification slots for major championships, with prize money available across race categories.

Olanrewaju disclosed that the festival had attracted several cycling teams over the years, including foreign participants in almost every edition, expressing optimism that the 2026 event would attract even greater participation.

He called on sponsors, government agencies, security institutions and multinational organisations to support the festival, noting that their participation would help strengthen Nigeria’s outdoor sports industry and enhance the country’s international sporting profile.

Also speaking, the Technical Director of the Cycling Federation of Nigeria, Bashiru Mohammed, described the festival as an important platform for developing cycling and strengthening the country’s cycling community.

Mohammed said the competition was open to cyclists and cycling groups across Nigeria and beyond, adding that the organisers would share information about the event with international partners to encourage wider participation.

He explained that the professional races would feature male and female competitors in the XCC and XCO categories, while the programme would also include activities for children.

According to him, the competition would help Nigerian cyclists prepare for next year’s championship for emerging countries, which he likened to an Olympic-style gathering of athletes from different sporting disciplines.

In his remarked,  the CFN Secretary-General of the federation, Joel Akinuwa, said prize money remained an important feature of the festival, noting that participants in the previous edition received financial rewards in addition to opportunities to qualify for the African Championships and other major international competitions.

Akinuwa added that winners across the various categories in the 2026 edition would also receive prize money, providing further motivation for cyclists to compete.

Beyond the elite races, the two-day festival will feature a trail run, children’s mountain bike race, veterans’ recreational ride, city-wide fitness ride and hiking campout.

The event will also incorporate corporate social responsibility initiatives, including the Jigakushi School Restoration Project and the Road Safety Street Mural Initiative, aimed at promoting community development and road safety awareness.

The organisers said the festival would bring together professional athletes, recreational cyclists, families, young people, fitness enthusiasts, media organisations and international observers, while promoting tourism, youth development and community engagement.

They added that the long-term vision was to position Abuja and Nigeria as leading mountain biking destinations in Africa, capable of hosting international competitions and attracting athletes from across the continent and beyond.

Registration for the 2026 Abuja Chaingang MTB Festival is ongoing through the club’s website, www.chaingang.ng.

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