By Nkiruka Nnorom

The UK-Nigeria Technology Hub has launched its Creative Fund, a first‑phase grants initiative, designed to address critical technical capacity gaps across Nigeria’s film, fashion, and music industries.

The fund, according to a statement by Ndidiamaka Eze, Senior Press & Public Affairs Officer | Comms Lead, Growth, Trade and Investment, Nigeria Network at UK FCDO, would support the development of local digital production capacity, encourage the adoption of modern creative technologies, and promote the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), to strengthen Nigeria’s creative value chain.

The initiative directly supports the priorities of the UK‑Nigeria Economic Transformation and Investment Partnership (ETIP) Creatives Working Group launched in March 2025 and the delivers on commitments made during President Tinubu’s State visit to the UK in March 2026.

She noted in the statement that the Fund was designed to ensure that high potential creative projects can access the technical talent, tools, and resources required to produce, scale and complete their work locally.

Funded by the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, under the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme and implemented by Tech4Dev, the Creative Fund responds directly evidence gathered through the State of the Creative Innovation Ecosystem in Nigeria, study in 2024.

The Fund will support high-potential creative projects covering three industries; Film, Fashion, Music and will focus on initiatives that demonstrate strong potential for impact, scalability, and job creation.
It would subsidise projects that need to close technical gaps including critical specialists like VFX artists, sound engineers, post-production editors, and design professionals, or the digital tools and resources that make professional-quality work possible locally, for example digital asset management systems, content delivery tools, Digital Rights Management solutions, and AI-driven production technologies.

Drawing on over 1,700 survey responses, and fieldwork across seven states, the research showed that Nigeria’s creative economy employs approximately 4.2 million people and contributes around US$3 billion to GDP annually.

Despite this scale, the sector continues to face structural constraints with over 80 percent of practitioners being self-taught, fewer than 10 percent have access to formal financing, and high-value technical work is routinely outsourced outside the country.

The Creative Fund is a direct response to these gaps, and central to the work of the ETIP Creative working Group.

Oyinkansola Akintola‑Bello, Director of the UK‑Nigeria Tech Hub, said: “Nigeria’s creative sector already delivers real economic value, and both governments have committed under the UK‑Nigeria Economic Transformation and Investment Partnership to supporting its growth. “Through the ETIP Creatives Working Group, we are moving from ambition to action. The Creative Fund is a practical first‑phase intervention that addresses critical gaps in skills, infrastructure, and access to advanced tools, enabling Nigerian creatives to produce and scale high‑quality work locally.”

Abraham Akpan, Tech4Dev’s Country Manager for Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa said: “The Creative industries are a core part of the digital economy, bringing together technology, culture and entrepreneurship. This Fund is about ensuring that Nigeria’s creative success is underpinned by sustainable local talent and capacity, while deliberately expanding access to tools, skills and finance for those who have been historically excluded. By prioritising women-led enterprises, youth-led ventures, and underrepresented groups, the fund embeds inclusion into every stage of delivery.”