The Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, has said that the Nigerian creative industry has the fastest growth rate in the world.
Abubakar made the claim at a creative entrepreneurs summit organised by the Enterprise Development Centre, EDC, Global Entrepreneurship Network, GEN, and the Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, tagged “Creative Industry in Nigeria- the Emergence and Opportunities for Entrepreneurs”.
She noted that the Nigerian creative industry has seen a period of rapid growth spurred by emerging digital technology, which supports content creation, distribution and consumption, a growing middle class in Nigeria and most of sub-Saharan Africa as well as supporting industries, which are rapidly evolving. The minister who was represented by Director, Industrial Development, Mr Adewale Bakare, said the creative industry has gone global with little government support.
“There is no broad-based consensus on what creative industries are, but I will expatiate on Nigeria’s three (3) major areas of comparative advantage in the creative economy – Music, Film and Information Technology Industries,” she said.
Abubakar noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rated Nollywood as the second biggest employer in Nigeria, engaging over a million persons, adding that the significance of the Nigerian film and television industry came into focus after the rebasing of the national economy in 2013.
“As at 2016, the film industry sector contributed 2.3 per (N239 billion) of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nigeria’s music industry grew by 9 per cent by 2016 to reach a value of 39 million dollars, and is set to grow by 13.4 per cent CAGR by 2021, with an estimated worth of about 73 million dollars. In addition, the gaming industry in Nigeria, according to a PwC study on gaming, is growing. It is benefitting from a broadening customer base, mostly the large and youthful population. UNICON values Nigeria’s video game industry at $150 million USD and estimates mobile gaming to surpass $147 million USD by 2020” she said.