Shettima urges investors to fund African creative businesses

File: Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged investors and financial institutions to provide early funding for African creative businesses, describing the sector as a major source of future global companies, employment and economic growth.

Shettima made the call on Thursday at the opening of the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend 2026 in Lagos, where government officials, investors and creative industry professionals gathered to explore financing and commercial opportunities across the continent.

Addressing investors, the Vice President said, “The next great global creative companies will come from Africa. Back them early, and back them here.”

He also challenged African creatives to convert their international recognition into commercial agreements, urging them to pursue distribution contracts, investment commitments and partnerships.

“Do not leave Lagos with memories alone; leave with a signed term sheet, a distribution deal, a buyer’s handshake. The world is ready to pay for what you make,” he said.

Shettima described the creative industry as an important economic sector rather than merely a source of entertainment, noting that the Federal Government was strengthening intellectual property protection, expanding financing opportunities and promoting creative trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

“Creativity is now a trade sector, and we intend to treat it as one,” he declared.

He called on African governments to remove barriers restricting creative businesses from accessing regional markets, particularly obstacles affecting payments and cross-border transactions.

The Vice President commended the African Export-Import Bank for committing 540m.

He said Africa’s youthful population offered significant opportunities to supply creative and digital skills to an ageing global workforce, while urging African countries to convert their demographic advantage into economic prosperity.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, disclosed that the Federal Government was unlocking over $600m in financing for digital and creative enterprises through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme.

She said Nigeria had approved its first national intellectual property policy and strategy in November 2025 and subsequently unveiled a creative sector investment playbook at the World Economic Forum in January 2026.

Oduwole recalled how institutional investment helped expand Nigerian music businesses, arguing that similar financing could unlock opportunities across film, fashion, literature, gaming and other creative activities.

She added that registration for CANEX 2026 had been stopped at 17,000 participants, compared with 6,000 at the previous edition.

Also speaking, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu described the creative economy as an important source of youth employment and export earnings.

“Your talent is not just a hobby any longer. It is indeed an export,” he told creative entrepreneurs.

Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had invested in theatres, cultural facilities, fashion events and artistic programmes to support the industry.

He urged creators to register and protect their work, price their products appropriately and ensure that international demand translated into earnings.

The governor also expressed confidence that Lagos could become a major marketplace for creative goods under the AfCFTA, ahead of its hosting of the Intra-African Trade Fair in 2027.