Nigeria’s creative economy cannot achieve its full potential on talent alone and requires stronger structures, access to finance, skills development and better protection of intellectual property, stakeholders at the second QEDNG Creative Powerhouse Summit have said.

The summit, organised by Mighty Media Plus Network Limited, publishers of QEDNG, was held on Tuesday at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos, with the theme “Creativity, Culture and Nigeria’s Next Chapter”.

The event brought together filmmakers, music executives, content creators, journalists, business leaders, government officials and other stakeholders to examine the structures, financing, skills, intellectual property and platforms required to build a sustainable and globally competitive creative economy.

In his address, QEDNG publisher and convener of the summit, Olumide Iyanda, said the institutional and structural challenges facing creatives remained a major obstacle to the growth of the sector.

“This conversation is actually very personal for me. As I said here last year, I have been around this industry long enough to see talent sprout. I’ve also regrettably seen some of them wither before they could bloom. Not because they didn’t want to fly, but because the institutional and structural backbone that they need is just not there. For every Burna Boy, every Kiekie, every Chimamanda, every Kunle Afolayan, there are thousands who wish they could be like them. Some of them are in this room this morning,” Mr Iyanda said.

He, therefore, called for stronger Nigerian platforms capable of supporting and distributing local creative works, saying the stories Nigeria tells about itself should form part of the wider national conversation.

Representing the chairman of the summit Demola Aladekomo, managing director of SmartCity Plc Gabriel Ukachukwu said Nigeria needed to build an ecosystem around the creative economy rather than rely solely on individual talent.

A creative economy requires infrastructure. It requires capital. It requires intellectual protection. It requires skills. It requires distribution. It requires technology. It requires serious business models, Mr Ukachukwu said, adding that the global creative economy has become too significant for countries to leave its development to chance.

Speaking further, the chairman’s representative said the “United Nations Trade and Investment " estimated global export of creative services in 2024 to have reached $1.7 trillion. It tells us that creativity is no longer a margin of the global economy. It is a part of the global economy.”

He said Nigeria needed to answer three fundamental questions: how to move talent into enterprise, how to finance creativity and how to protect and monetise intellectual property.

“Talent without structure is just a hustle. So how do we move from talent to enterprise? My second question is: How do we finance creativity? The third one is how do we protect and monetize intellectual property,” he continued.

Delivering the keynote address, national coordinator of the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Ife Adebayo said Nigeria had enormous creative talent and cultural influence but needed to build the systems to turn those assets into economic value.

Adebayo used the 1986 American film Top Gun to illustrate the power of storytelling to shape national image and economic outcomes. He said the film, which portrayed the United States Navy's fighter pilots, was followed by a reported surge in applications to join the US Navy.

He challenged Nigeria to consider what its own creative output could achieve if film, music, fashion, comedy and animation were deliberately supported as tools for projecting the country to the world.

“Think about that. The most powerful military on earth, with the largest budget in human history, confessing that its most effective recruiter was not a weapon, was not a general, was not a budget line. It was a story. It was culture.”

Adebayo said Nigeria was also paying a price for leaving important stories untold, recalling the death of a military officer whom he described as a godfather S.K. Umaru, who died in an IED blast while fighting insurgents in 2014.

“What stays with me most is that this story has never been told. And he is one of thousands of men and women who have fought and who are fighting for this country as I stand speaking here to you today.”

He said Nigeria's creative economy currently contributes about 1.2 per cent of GDP, compared with close to three per cent in South Africa, which he said had built stronger structures around its creative industries.

“The difference is that they count it, they structure it, they finance it. We have the louder voice; they build the microphone, provide a better infrastructure, supported with better policies.”

Adebayo also cited South Korea's deliberate investment in cultural exports, pointing to the global impact of Korean music, film and television.

He identified skills, capital and structure as major gaps in Nigeria's creative economy, pointing to shortages in areas such as cinematography, product management and animation, as well as the high cost of accessing professional equipment and expertise.

“The average Nollywood film has historically been made on a budget a fraction of what a single day costs a serious studio abroad. A great script in this country does not die because it is bad; it dies because it is broke,” he declared.

He said better intellectual property protection and clearer pathways from creative ideas to bankable businesses were also needed.

Adebayo disclosed that the iDICE programme had established a $45 million debt fund and a $65 million Islamic finance facility, alongside equity options designed to attract additional private and international investment into Nigeria's technology and creative sectors.

He urged financiers to regard creative businesses as investable enterprises rather than informal ventures.

“To the financiers in the room and every institution, we should stop treating film like a personal loan and start treating it like the asset class that it has become everywhere else on earth.”

He also called on corporate Nigeria to move beyond sponsorship of creative activities and invest directly in the sector.

“Do not just sponsor the summit; fund the sector.”

Adebayo said the government also had a role to play in protecting intellectual property and creating policies that respond more quickly to the needs of the creative economy.

He urged creatives to continue telling Nigerian stories, arguing that their work could influence how the country is understood at home and abroad.

“The next chapter of Nigeria will not be written by the government alone, nor will it be written by the private sector alone. It will be co-written by the creator, the financier, the policymaker, the entrepreneur, by everyone in this room, deciding that our story is too valuable to leave untold and too powerful to leave unfunded.”

The summit featured two panel discussions. The first, “Building Tomorrow’s Creative Economy Today”, featured Steve Babaeko, chief executive officer of X3M Ideas; Dr Olamide Okulaja, technical adviser at the Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment; Anwuli Ojogwu, co-founder and chief executive officer of Narrative Landscape Press; and Yibo Koko, director general and chief executive officer of the Rivers State Tourism Development Agency. The session was moderated by Steve Ayorinde, former Lagos State commissioner for tourism, arts and culture.

The second panel, “What Creatives Need for Nigeria”, featured veteran actress Joke Silva, who is the president of Women in Film and TV Nigeria; Efe Omorogbe, founder of Buckwyld Media Network; Oluwabukunmi Adeaga-Ilori, popularly known as Kiekie, and technology and finance content creator Fisayo Fosudo. Funke Treasure moderated the session.

The event was hosted by Gbenga Adeyinka and featured a special musical performance by saxophonist Temilayo Abodunrin.

Plaques were presented to resource persons at the summit.

The summit was supported by FirstBank, NLNG, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, The Africa Soft Power Group, Lagos State Internal Revenue Service and Polaris

The inaugural QEDNG Creative Powerhouse Summit was held on August 12, 2025, with the theme “Financing as Catalyst for a Thriving Creative Economy.”

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