By Eva Irewole
Nigeria’s creative economy cannot achieve its full potential on talent alone and therefore 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, August 11, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos, with the theme “Creativity, Culture and Nigeria’s Next Chapter”.
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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 remain 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 they need is 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,” 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,” Ukachukwu said, adding that the global creative economy has become too significant for countries to leave its development to chance.
He noted that the “United Nations Trade and Investment” estimated the global export of creative services in 2024 at $1.7 trillion, adding that creativity is now a central part of the global economy.
Ukachukwu 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 monetise intellectual property?” he said.
Delivering the keynote address, National Coordinator of the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE), Adebayo Adebayo, said Nigeria has enormous creative talent and cultural influence but must build systems to convert those assets into economic value.
Adebayo referenced the 1986 American film *Top Gun* to illustrate the power of storytelling in shaping national image and economic outcomes, noting how the film reportedly boosted recruitment into the United States Navy.
He urged 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 globally.
“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, not a general, not a budget line. It was a story. It was culture,” he said.
Adebayo also reflected on the untold stories of national heroes, citing the death of a military officer, 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 are still fighting for this country,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria’s creative economy contributes about 1.2 per cent of GDP, compared with close to three per cent in South Africa, attributing the gap to stronger systems, financing, and structure.
“We have the louder voice; they build the microphone, provide better infrastructure, and support it with better policies,” he said.
Adebayo also cited South Korea’s deliberate investment in cultural exports as a model Nigeria could learn from.
He identified skills, capital, and structure as major gaps in Nigeria’s creative economy, highlighting shortages in cinematography, product management, and animation, as well as the high cost of production resources.
“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 said.
He stressed the need for stronger intellectual property protection and clearer pathways from creative ideas to bankable businesses.
Adebayo disclosed that the iDICE programme has established a $45 million debt fund and a $65 million Islamic finance facility, alongside equity options aimed at attracting private and international investment into Nigeria’s creative and tech sectors.
He urged financiers to treat creative businesses as investable enterprises.
“To 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 in the world,” he said.
He also called on corporate Nigeria to move beyond sponsorship and invest directly in the sector.
“Do not just sponsor the summit; fund the sector,” he said.
Adebayo added that government must strengthen intellectual property protection and develop policies that respond faster to the evolving creative economy.
He urged creatives to continue telling Nigerian stories, stressing their power to shape global perception.
“The next chapter of Nigeria will not be written by government alone, nor by the private sector alone. It will be co-written by creators, financiers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs,” he said.
The summit featured two panel discussions. The first, “Building Tomorrow’s Creative Economy Today”, included Steve Babaeko, Dr Olamide Okulaja, Anwuli Ojogwu, and Yibo Koko, and was moderated by Steve Ayorinde.
The second panel, “What Creatives Need for Nigeria”, featured Joke Silva, Efe Omorogbe, Kiekie, and Fisayo Fosudo, moderated by Funke Treasure.
The event was hosted by Gbenga Adeyinka and featured a 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 Bank.
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The inaugural QEDNG Creative Powerhouse Summit was held on August 12, 2025, with the theme “Financing as Catalyst for a Thriving Creative Economy”.
