NCAC targets $25b from creative economy in 2025

…Says industry capable of creating needed jobs, increasing states, FG revenues, others

Obi Asika, the Director General, National Council of Arts and Culture (NCAC), has said that, the council is targeting a revenue growth of 25 billion dollar from the creative economy in 2025.

He also said the sector has the capacity of creating the most needed jobs and businesses, as well as increasing the revenue profile of states and the country as a whole.

The Director General, who made the revelation in an interview at the ongoing 2024 NAFEST in Abuja, said he is determined to change the face of NAFEST and to activate it beyond government circle where more states, the police, the military as well as other African countries can easily participates.

Asika, noted that, the sector is not only massive, it has huge opportunities beyond the projection, and that, the fashion industry been one of the biggest segments of the creative economy, has the potentials of stabilizing the nation’s economy.

“I went to the Nigeria Governor’s Forum already to talk to them about the policy side, and the capacity building side of NAFEST and the revenue side of this.

“The industry can create all the jobs Nigeria needs. It also has the capacity to create businesses, products and experiences. You have to stop looking at the industry as giving away money.

“The industry makes over a 100 billion dollars a year worldwide and in this country, by 2030, it will be a 100 billion dollars a year.

“PwC projects 25 billion dollar in 2025 for Nigeria. I always tell PwC, the projection are great, but feeling it in our pockets is better.

“The sector is massive, the sector has huge opportunities, it goes beyond the projection and you know in Nigeria, the reason fashion is the biggest body is that, every person has a tailor.

“We are structured differently from other nations and that ecosystem alone is a multi-billion dollar ecosystem in Nigeria today.

“So, when you hear a 100 billion dollar target for the sector, it is not a random thing, it came out from a studies carried out in 2019-2020 for the National Development Plan, which we took to the National Economic Council.

He said, he is working with a world-class expectation to revamp the sector speedily, as according to him, “our culture and opportunities are limitless because the money and opportunities for business people are there.”