The Federal Government says its Destination 2030 initiative will expand opportunities beyond Lagos and Abuja by turning Nigeria’s creative and cultural assets into sustainable businesses

The Federal Government has set a target of creating two million jobs in Nigeria’s creative industry by 2030 as part of efforts to transform the country’s cultural assets and creative talent into commercially viable businesses.

The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, disclosed this at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Kano Creative Summit, organised by the National Theatre to strengthen the creative economy and equip practitioners with skills needed to build sustainable businesses.

The summit, held under the theme, “Beyond Lagos: Unlocking Northern Nigeria’s Creative Economy,” focused on expanding Nigeria’s creative opportunities beyond the country’s traditional creative hubs.

Musawa urged creative practitioners in Northern Nigeria to take greater ownership of their works, strengthen their business structures and make better use of intellectual property to generate sustainable income.

She identified Kano’s traditional dyeing pits, leatherwork, weaving, embroidery, blacksmithing and traditional performances, as well as the Kannywood film industry, as major creative assets capable of generating significant economic value.

According to the minister, Kannywood has built a strong audience across West Africa and beyond and should be recognised as an important component of Nigeria’s global film industry alongside Nollywood.

Musawa, however, identified weak commercial structures, inadequate ownership systems and limited access to markets as some of the major challenges preventing creatives from benefiting fully from their work.

She noted that many traditional craft practitioners were abandoning their occupations because their skills were no longer generating sufficient income to sustain their livelihoods.

The minister said the Federal Government was addressing these challenges through its creative economy programmes, including an eight-point plan and the Destination 2030 initiative, which targets the creation of two million jobs by 2030.

She explained that taking the creative summit to Kano was part of the government’s broader effort to ensure that opportunities in the creative economy are not concentrated in Lagos and Abuja.

Musawa urged young creatives across Northern Nigeria to build sustainable businesses around their skills and cultural heritage, stressing the need to move beyond talent development to ownership, commercialisation and access to wider markets.

The minister said Nigeria’s diverse cultural heritage provides significant opportunities for economic growth if properly developed, protected and connected to local and international markets.