Creative Industry

Minister Calls For Increased Investment In Nigeria Creative Economy

Published

12 months ago

October 7, 2025

Joel Ajayi
The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has called on stakeholders to increase investment in the country’s creative sector.

Speaking at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Tuesday, Minister Musawa emphasized the sector’s potential to drive inclusive growth, generate employment, and enhance global competitiveness.

She said that recent statistics show that the creative economy in Nigeria currently contributes approximately 2.3% to the national GDP and employs over 4.2 million people across various sectors. Musawa highlighted the sector’s growth potential, citing the success of Nollywood, the Nigerian fashion industry, and the Afrobeats music genre.

“We must create an environment that attracts both local and international investors to our creative industries. This requires not only financial incentives but also a strong regulatory framework that ensures transparency, accountability, and ease of doing business,” Minister Musawa said.

The Minister also identified challenges facing the sector, including limited access to funding, inadequate infrastructure, and regulatory and policy challenges. She urged financial institutions to develop financial instruments tailored to the unique needs of the creative sector and called for increased investment in infrastructure and skills development.

“I urge those present who represent the formal financial sector, to start to make considerations for the unique nature of our sector and its products,” the Minister stated.

Musawa emphasized the need for a supportive and enabling regulatory environment that fosters innovation and creativity. She assured

stakeholders that the ministry would continue to drive changes in regulatory and policy frameworks to support the industry.

“Together, we can build a future where creativity and innovation drive sustainable economic growth and cultural prosperity for Nigeria. As Omoyemi Akerele, Founder and CEO of Lagos Fashion Week and Style House Files, once said, ‘The creative economy is not just about entertainment; it’s about creating a sustainable ecosystem that empowers our talents and showcases our rich cultural heritage to the world,'” Minister Musawa concluded.

The workshop, themed “Building Productive Sectors: Investing in the Creative Economy,” brought together key stakeholders, private sector investors, and creative entrepreneurs to discuss ways to harness the potential of the creative economy and build a robust and productive sector.

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Creative Industry

FG Backs MyCityApp Launch of 100-Day Tourism Calendar to Drive $100bn Economic Growth

Published

2 weeks ago

September 15, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Federal Government has thrown its weight behind the launch of MyCityApp, a Nigerian city discovery and tourism platform designed to aggregate festivals, concerts, cultural events and lifestyle experiences into a single digital calendar.

The platform, which flags off the 100-Day Tourism Calendar, was unveiled on Monday at the Ember2Remember National Stakeholders’ Conference in Victoria Island, Lagos, with the initiative targeting Nigeria’s estimated $100 billion tourism and creative economy opportunity.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Nneka Ikem Anibeze, the ministry said the conference was aimed at mobilising public and private stakeholders to transform the September-to-December festive period into jobs, investment and economic growth.

Speaking at the unveiling, the Minister, Hannatu Musa Musawa, said millions of visitors travel across Nigeria every year to celebrate, reconnect and experience the country’s diverse culture, stressing that the festive season could be deliberately organised and monetised to strengthen tourism’s contribution to the economy.

“This initiative is about moving beyond the traditional concept of a festive season. It is about deliberately organising, packaging, promoting, and monetising one of the most economically active periods in our national calendar,” Musawa said.

She noted that every visitor generates economic activity across several sectors, including aviation, transportation, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, retail, technology, artisans and local communities.

The Minister commended MyCityApp Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Ifeoma Chukwu, for her vision and commitment to the initiative.

She urged state governments, event organisers, tourism operators, hospitality businesses and other stakeholders to list their festivals, concerts, exhibitions, food experiences, cultural celebrations, fashion and sporting events on the national calendar.

Musawa said the platform would enable Nigerians, members of the diaspora and international visitors to discover tourism and entertainment experiences across the country from a single, credible source.

Earlier, Chukwu said Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and creative sector provided enormous opportunities for tourism-driven economic growth.

She cited the contributions of tourism to the economies of countries such as Spain, France and the United States, arguing that Nigeria could equally build a $100 billion tourism economy.

Also present were Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson-Awoyinka; Enugu State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ugochi Madueke; NCAC Director-General, Obi Asika; National Gallery of Art Director-General, Ahmed Sodangi; ARCON Director-General, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo; and MTN Nigeria CEO, Dr Karl Toriola.

MyLagosApp and MyCityApp will serve as the digital engines of the calendar, distributing events through a 360-degree media ecosystem to audiences in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Stakeholders were encouraged to upload their events on MyCityApp to participate in the national tourism calendar urging them to upload events on http://www.MyCityApp.io.

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