The third edition of the Creative Nigeria Summit, organised by Think Tank Media and Advertising, was held at Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja Lagos.
Themed Finance for Growth, this year’s focus was on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s intervention initiative and how it can have the best impact on the Nigerian economy.
The event, on September 30, kicked off with opening remarks by the chairman of Digital Play, Toyin Subair, who emphasised the importance of this gathering as a way of merging the creative space with the financial space.
Noting the relevance of financing, which is crucial to the growth of the creative industry, he said that the industry was now secure for investment.
Godwin Emefiele, keynote speaker and governor of CBN, stressed the important roles the creative industry is playing and the various measures the bank and the bankers’ committee has put in place to ensure the growth of the industry.
Emefiele, who was instrumental in the establishment of the creative industry financing initiative fund, said that over N22bn in initial funds have been made available to support the creative industry.
He said: “Efforts must be made to harness the innovative creative ideas of our youths.”
The measures include supporting start-ups and emerging businesses in the creative space by developing a 40-acre creative park that will enable creatives to showcase their works and also reward creativity in the music, movie, fashion and IT industries.
They are also supporting the development of digital platforms so people have access to mobile financial services they can link to their phones.
In addition, they are developing more than 50 additional cinemas to make movies more affordable and ensuring textile designers are able to source and produce garments in Nigeria.
Emefiele said that banks are ready to work with businesses to give loans as long as they are willing to pay them back.
He said this will help support over 10,000 Nigerians with creative skills, provide over 200 direct and indirect jobs, thereby curbing unemployment, and also prevent copyright infringement, piracy and smuggling of textile materials.
“Creatives in the creative industry should note that they have partners in the CBN and bankers committee and we will continue to ensure skills are harnessed for the growth of our creative industry,” he concluded.
The Creative Nigeria Summit is dedicated to bridging the knowledge gap between the media industry and Nigerian financial institutions.
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