Musawa secures $200m deal to transform Nigeria’s creative economy

BY ORJI ONYEKWERE

The Minister of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, have secured a $200 million financing facility with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank Bank) to support the growth of the country’s creative industries.

Minister Musawa said that this partnership with the African Export–Import Bank is a crucial component of the Destination 2030 vision and one of the ministry’s ambitious goals for the creative economy.

She emphasized the critical role of global partnerships in driving the country’s vision forward, stating that Destination 2030: ‘Nigeria Everywhere’, is the Ministry’s roadmap to transforming Nigeria into a global cultural powerhouse and called on more stakeholders to invest in the vision.

“To fully realize this vision, I urge investors, development partners, and global collaborators to join us in creating 2 million jobs and contributing $100 billion to the national GDP.”

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Earlier, the President and Chairman of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah who announced the partnership in New York stated that the $200 facility is to support the Ministry’s new initiatives for sustainable economic growth.

He emphasized the importance of investing in the creative industries and positioning Africa as a global cultural leader.

“The Bank has deployed the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Programme to enhance Africa’s share of global trade in creatives and cultural products by offering tailored financial solutions, facilitating technical capacity building, and opening avenues for market access for creative entrepreneurs.

“It is for this reason that we are pleased to be working with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, to put in place, a financing facility in an amount of 200 million US dollars to support new laudable initiatives in support of the creative and cultural industries. We are impressed by the commitment and passion of the Ministry and the alignment with Afreximbank creatives’ strategy. We hope that we can work together to entrench this fully and use it to support the industry in a way that boosts pan-African cross-country partnership,’’ she said.

In a related development, Minister Musawa also engaged in several high-level meetings on the sidelines of UNGA to bolster Nigeria’s cultural and creative ambitions.

She took advantage of the UNGA sidelines to advance Nigeria’s cultural and creative goals through high-level meetings with top UN officials, including Amina Mohammed, to align Nigeria’s cultural initiatives with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Musawa also discussed Nigeria’s 8-point plan with U.S. Under Secretary Lee Satterfield.

The “Destination 2030” initiative aims to establish Nigeria as a global soft power leader by 2030, with clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set by President Tinubu. As of 2024, the Ministry reported a 36% increase in Nigeria’s Cultural Influence alongside an 18% increase in the Brand Perception Index.