The National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) says Nigeria’s creative sector could contribute as much as $450 billion to the economy if its potential is properly harnessed.
Gatekeepers News reports that the institute said the sector could play a significant role in helping President Bola Tinubu achieve his target of growing Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) to $1 trillion by 2030.
Ayo Omotayo, Director-General of NIPSS, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja when he led a delegation from the institute on a courtesy visit to Hanatu Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
The visit was aimed at securing the ministry’s partnership for the National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy, organised by NIPSS.
Creative sector can contribute $450bn
Omotayo said NIPSS had identified the creative sector as the final area of focus in its efforts to examine sectors capable of providing leverage for achieving the $1 trillion economy target.
“For the national institute, we have bonded ourselves to the agenda of Mr President in which he wants Nigeria to reach a trillion-dollar economy by 2030,” he said.
He said the institute had examined various sectors of the economy since 2023 to identify areas where Nigeria could achieve significant economic growth through proper planning.
According to Omotayo, NIPSS research indicates that the creative sector could contribute about $250 billion to the economy, but has the potential to reach $450 billion if properly developed.
He said the institute decided to focus on the sector because technological advancements had created new opportunities for arts and culture.
“At 50 years back, the technology we have today did not exist and with the technology we have today, a whole lot of things are happening and we believe the arts and culture sector can also benefit,” he said.
‘Creative industry is our next oil’
Lai Mohammed, former Minister of Information and Culture and managing partner of Bruit Costaud, a consulting firm for the summit, said Nigeria’s creative industry had enormous potential to generate jobs and drive economic growth.
“I have always said it when I was a minister that our next oil is actually the creative industry; it’s our films, music, gastronomy, fashion, publishing, sports, etc.,” he said.
Mohammed also described the industry as a major source of employment, saying it is the second-largest employer of labour after agriculture.
Musawa, in her remarks, said the ministry was deliberately repositioning the arts, culture and tourism sector as an engine of economic growth under the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She said the sector had significant potential to contribute to the president’s $1 trillion economy target.
“When the president speaks about trying to increase the GDP to $1 trillion, we believe that this ministry and this industry have the potential of really adding to that,” she said.
Musawa said the ministry had set a target of contributing about $100 billion to GDP, adding that the sector could potentially exceed that figure.
The National Summit and Exhibition on the Orange Economy is scheduled to hold from October 6 to 8, 2026, at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, formerly known as the National Theatre, in Iganmu, Lagos.
