The creative industry in Nigeria is a framework constituting talented individuals in music, film, culture and art as well as fashion amongst others. The industry has sustained impressive growth most especially in music, film and fashion. With the music industry grossing about $73 million in 2021, it has been projected to reach $101.80 million in 2023.
The industry has further been designated to potentially emerge as the country’s largest export sector and to contribute an estimated $100 billion to Nigeria’s GDP by 2030. This assertion was made by the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Ramin Toloui on Monday, November 6, 2023, at the Africa creative market conference in Lagos.
“Nigeria’s creative industries have the potential to become Nigeria’s largest export sector and could create an estimated 2.7 million jobs by 2050 for the country’s growing youth population, and $100 billion to Nigeria’s GDp by 2030.”, Toloui stated. He furthered that the growth is already developmental, granting the fact that the cultural sector alone currently accounts for 3.1 percent of global GDP and the creative industries in whole generates an annual revenue of over $2 trillion and it banks nearly 50 million jobs worldwide.
He specifically spotlighted the increasing interest of American actors and filmmakers towards the Nigerian cinema and the rising trend of the collaboration between Nigerian and American musicians. This has been made possible as a result of the increasing exploitation of digital streaming platforms and international tours which has sparked a surge in several U.S. film and entertainment companies for investments and commercial ties.
Toloui attested to the U.S. government’s stance to support Nigeria’s creative industry to ensure its immense growth and success.