Creative industries serve as catalysts for building diverse, sustainable communities while simultaneously driving economic growth. Success in this sector demands professionals who excel at teamwork, analytical reasoning, and calculated risk-taking.

The creative sector encompasses diverse fields including publishing, cinema, television production, music creation, media broadcasting, architectural design, marketing communications, and both visual and performance arts. These industries are increasingly recognized not merely as essential components of our evolving knowledge-based economy, but as powerful engines capable of transforming struggling regions and preserving cultural identity.

Even as traditional sectors face challenges, creative professionals are successfully merging cultural expression with technological innovation to create employment opportunities and establish enterprises focused on delivering social impact and fostering community inclusion.

In the face of Nigeria’s ambitious goal to transform its creative economy into a $100 billion powerhouse by 2030, industry stakeholders are calling for a fundamental shift in both financing approaches and entrepreneurial mindsets as critical catalysts for sustainable growth.

According to creative industry leaders who shared insights on the topic “Financing as Catalyst for a Thriving Creative Economy,” the sector’s transformation requires moving beyond traditional funding models toward comprehensive ecosystem development that supports long-term value creation.

Nigeria’s creative sector has long grappled with limited access to conventional financing, as traditional banks often view creative ventures as high-risk investments with intangible assets. This challenge has forced many talented creatives to either abandon promising projects or seek alternative funding sources that may not align with their long-term vision.

The new financing paradigm being advocated focuses on understanding the unique characteristics of creative businesses, including their irregular cash flows, intellectual property-based assets, and longer development cycles. Industry leaders emphasize that financial institutions must develop specialized products and services tailored to these realities.

The Economic Reality and Untapped Potential

On his part, Olumide Iyanda, chief executive officer of Mighty Media, spoke on the challenges of the industry, he emphasized the urgency of honest industry conversations, noting that strategic thinking and smart action are essential for the creative sector to reach its full potential.

“Nigeria’s creative economy contributes approximately $5.6 billion to our GDP and it is the second highest employer in the country. The federal government has set a bold goal of raising the sector’s contribution to $100 billion by 2030. The plan seeks to position Nigeria as a leading creative and entertainment hub on the global stage,” Iyanda explained.

Beyond Consumption to Production Excellence

Udeme Ufot, group managing director of SO&U, highlighted the critical distinction between supporting creative consumption and enabling sustainable production capabilities. His analysis points to a fundamental gap in how the industry approaches growth and investment.

“Our goal is not just to support consumption, but to enable production, distribution, and creative output,” Ufot stated, emphasizing that true industry transformation requires comprehensive value chain development.

Ufot made it clear that the sector doesn’t require indiscriminate funding, but rather smart financing from investors who understand the long-term nature of content development. This nuanced approach acknowledges that creative industries operate on different timelines and risk profiles compared to traditional business sectors.

Moving forward, Ufot stressed the importance of developing financial products specifically designed for creative entrepreneurs. He pointed out that banks and investors must be willing to back the sector with tailor-made solutions, while government policies must encourage innovation and calculated risk-taking.

He called on private sector leaders to promote scalable and locally relevant business models, insisting that the ecosystem requires all players financial institutions, policymakers, and business leaders to actively participate in shaping its success.

The Data Imperative for Strategic Decision-Making

In discussing evidence-based strategies, Ufot highlighted the pressing need for comprehensive data and insights that can guide investment decisions and demonstrate the sector’s broader impact.

“We also need stronger evidence-based data to inform decisions and demonstrate the social and economic impact of the creative economy,” he noted, calling for measuring value beyond box office numbers and emphasizing indicators like job creation, export growth, community engagement, and cultural preservation.

This data-driven approach represents a maturation of industry thinking, moving from anecdotal success stories to systematic analysis that can attract institutional investment.

Transitioning to talent development, Ufot urged creative entrepreneurs to build a dual skill set, stressing that creatives must pair their artistic abilities with financial literacy and risk management to gain investor confidence.

Ecosystem Thinking Over Isolated Success Stories

Dr Nkiru Balonwu, Founder of The Africa Soft Power Group, spoke on “Unlocking the full potential of the creative economy through ecosystem thinking,” providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the sector’s financing challenges and opportunities.

Balonwu noted that her analysis draws from observations, learnings, experience and reflections on what will make the creative economy thrive, explaining that while financing is the key part of the story, “the real magic happens when the dots are connected, when capital meets talents, innovation meet and policy meet partnerships.”

Her assessment cuts to the heart of current industry limitations. “When we talk about financing as catalyst, we must look beyond surface level investment and commit to building an entire system, a system with enabling conditions that allows creatives to not just survive, but allows creatives to thrive and scale.”

The Global Success Paradox

Balonwu identified a critical disconnect between Nigeria’s global creative achievements and domestic investment frameworks, highlighting what she terms the “global success paradox.”

“The creative economy is both expression and enterprise, its already contribute to Nigeria economy GDP yet it lacks scalable, predictable investment frameworks. Nigeria music dominate global charts, our film stream on international platforms. Our designers show on global runway and our creators shape global digital culture but at home we still treat these industries as hubbies.”

She pointed out that institutional investors remain scarce in the space, with existing financing being fragmented and often focused on sponsorships, one-off brands or brand-driven supports rather than systematic business development.

“We celebrate global success but we haven’t yet built the local system to replicate that success at scale. One Burna Boy or Rema sell out iconic global venues, it is culture victory and a clear and ambiguous market signal and proof of concept and a market signal that there is a high-quality product, a dedicated global audience willing to pay premium praising and a scalable business model.”

According to Balonwu, the industry is “falling short in connecting the dots by not translating the undeniable success into compelling business case for Nigeria’s broader ecosystem. The challenge, I think, is not the lack of capital but the lack of scalable structure investment frameworks that the industry needs.”

The Design-Reality Gap in Current Funding

Balonwu’s analysis extends to existing government interventions, acknowledging their value while identifying critical design flaws that limit accessibility and impact.

“At the national level interventions like the Bank of Industries (BOI) sector funds are equally but again the capital exist in theory gap lie in design, accessibility and the alignment with practical needs of entrepreneurs but also have to be honest about the mismatch this founds often solve large scale project while most creatives in Nigeria are operating in macro or micro or early growth level.”

She raised a fundamental question about market readiness: “How many creatives are positioned to absolve multimillion naira ticket the reality is that our ecosystem also needs accessible, smaller-scale founding that turns an idea to a viable business.”

Strategic Solutions for Systematic Growth

Addressing these challenges, Balonwu outlined comprehensive solutions that acknowledge the creative industry’s unique development cycle and infrastructure needs.

“Tier targeting financing that spans early-stage grant, seed capital, ad patient equity all tailored to the creative lifecycle, we need financing designed for the mess middle not just a glamorous headline project or the polish final product,” she explained.

Her vision extends beyond content financing to essential infrastructure development. “If we want to see scale in Nigeria, we need long term financing, not just for connect but very boring unsexy infrastructure. IP banks, Data centres, eagle support, domestic distributions networks, right management platforms, efficient payment systems, insurance products for creatives, affordable product project facilities, talent development pipelines and so on.”

The Entrepreneurial Mindset Revolution

Balonwu emphasized that financing solutions must be accompanied by fundamental shifts in how creatives view themselves and their businesses, calling for what she terms “unnecessary mindset shift.”

“It is time for our creatives to see themselves not just as artist as business people, institution builders and financial literate architecture of enterprise. The question is no longer just how we build great platforms, the more urgent need is what are the structure that makes a platform sustainable in Nigeria.”

Her analysis challenges the industry to move beyond individual success toward systematic wealth creation. “Our creative industry will not and cannot achieve its full potential through isolated success stories. A few global superstars are source of national pride but a thriving interconnected ecosystem is a source of national wealth.”

Technology as Enabler, Not Threat

Balonwu also addressed the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the industry, urging creatives to see it as an enabler, not as a threat. This perspective reflects the forward-thinking approach necessary for the industry to remain competitive in rapidly evolving global markets.

Banking Sector Commitment to Understanding

Dr Shaibu Husseini, Head of SME Banking at First Bank of Nigeria, restated the Nigerian government’s provision of funds for the creative industry. The banking leader assured stakeholders of an open mind to understand the complexities of the industry, which would translate into more appropriate funding approaches.

His participation signals growing recognition within traditional financial institutions that the creative economy requires specialized understanding and tailored solutions rather than standard business lending approaches.

The Path Forward

Their submission is a significant moment in Nigeria’s creative economy development, moving beyond celebratory rhetoric about global successes toward systematic analysis of what sustainable growth requires. The consensus among stakeholders points toward a comprehensive approach that combines strategic financing, infrastructure development, talent cultivation, and policy alignment.

As the industry works toward the 2030 target of $100 billion contribution to GDP, the conversations provide a roadmap for transforming Nigeria’s undeniable creative talent into systematic wealth creation that benefits both individual entrepreneurs and the broader national economy.