By Victor Otigbu

The convener of the Niger Delta Creative Industry Expo, ND Cre8 EX 2026, Akpobome Ogude, has said the maiden edition is designed to bridge the gap between creative talents in the region and opportunities needed to turn their skills into sustainable economic value.

Ogude stated this during a press briefing at the Film Village in Asaba, Delta State.

He said the expo would provide creatives with access to industry experts, funding, equipment, training and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

According to him, the initiative was conceived to go beyond showcasing talents by establishing a long-term support system for creative practitioners across the Niger Delta.

Ogude said the region had considerable creative talent, but many practitioners still travelled outside the region to access professional services and industry support.

“If you do your research across the Niger Delta region, you will find things that have to do with the media and the creative industry. When you talk about graphics, for example, they go to Lagos to look for graphic designers,” he said.

He said the expo would help develop local capacity and establish stronger links between creatives and organisations capable of supporting their growth.

“We are not going to wait until we lose them. So, with this project, we are talking to the agencies that operate in our region. It should not be that every time we talk about the Niger Delta, we only talk about conflict,” Ogude said.

He said participants would have access to practical resources, including equipment and computers, as well as training in emerging technologies.

“We will bring facilities. We will bring equipment and show them how to use it. We will bring computers and show them how to use them. We will show them how AI works,” he said.

Ogude disclosed that the organisers were also developing partnerships with financial institutions and international organisations to expand the support available to participants.

He stressed that the initiative would not end with the expo, revealing that the organisers had developed a 10-year plan that would be reviewed periodically.

“We have a 10-year plan for this project, and we will review that plan from time to time. It is not a one-man project. We have an advisory board. We have representation from all nine Niger Delta states,” he said.

He added that participants would be registered and followed up after the expo to ensure that training and capacity development continued beyond the event.

“We have put systems in place. We will keep the people who register and follow up with them. We will follow them up because it is important to continue teaching them,” Ogude said.

The convener said the initiative would focus on developing the capacity of young people rather than simply distributing money as empowerment.

“Empowerment means giving a person something that enables them to become better. The greatest form of empowerment is the empowerment of the mind,” he said.

Also speaking, Kingsley King, Head of the State Directorate for the project, described ND Cre8 EX as “a platform, a bridge, and a vision born out of necessity.”

King said the Niger Delta had the talent but needed stronger structures to help creatives develop their skills and derive economic value from them.

He said the theme of the expo, “Creating, Empowering Creatives and Unlocking Opportunities,” reflected its focus on bringing together industry leaders, creatives, financiers, organisations and other stakeholders.

According to him, the initiative covers the nine Niger Delta states and has attracted support from state governments, as well as partnerships with organisations in the financial and maritime sectors.

“It is not a talent exhibition event. It is a bridge. We are connecting talent to opportunity. We are connecting ideas to funding, to investment. We are bringing together the investors, the investment, the talent, the ideas under one platform so that they can thrive and then we can create reasonable value,” King said.