Creative Arts Ministry eyes $10b contribution to GDP

The Federal Government has said it is aiming to generate $ 100 billion to the country’s economy through creative arts.

This comes as it assured that it would ensure Nigeria becomes the creative hub of not just Africa, but also in the global stage.

Minister of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during a visit to The Fashion Academy – a private vocational school.

Impressed by the academy’s waste-to-wealth initiatives, the Minister pledged that the Ministry would collaborate with the academy to promote their creations globally.

“To be able to take this and turn it into something that could be useful to the community, export as a people. Because these scraps are the tapestry of who are culturally and artistically. It has many benefits not only to the individual women and their immediate families and communities but I think it will help us on our journey to contribute N100billion to increase the GDP,” she said.

While calling on young creatives to register on the newly launched Creative Leap Acceleration Programme (CLAP), the Minister said the initiative marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards harnessing the boundless potentials of our creative minds.

The programme, she stressed, aims to position Nigeria as a global hub for arts, culture, and creatives.

While admitting that one of the major challenges faced by Nigerian creatives is the lack of financial resources to support their creative endeavors, Musawa announced that the ministry is in the process of setting up a fund to support participants in the programme.

Her words: “The Ministry is going to partner to see how we can use our platform to support the initiative and helping The Fashion Academy on the amazing job they are doing.

“I will go back and have an inter-ministerial meeting with relevant ministries to present this idea to them; to see how we can leverage on what they have already started. My hope is for us to export some of these great African expressions to the Diaspora”.

The Scrap to Bank (S2B) programme, implemented by The Fashion Academy, the Association of Spouses of Nigerian Ambassadors (ASNA), African Women’s Banking Initiative (AWBI) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (FMACCE) and endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Tourism, aims to transform scrap materials into valuable household items. These include pot holders, table runners, tissue holders, kitchen gloves, pillows and coasters, among others.

On her part, the Vice President, International Engagement for Africa, Voice of Africa, (VOA) Canada and President, Africa Women’s Banking Initiative (AWBI), Dr. Angela Adamu recalled that the project began a few months ago in collaboration with various partners, with the goal of lifting women out of poverty and unemployment.

She emphasised the critical role of women in shaping future generations through skills and education.

“Research has shown that the most influential factor in developing and changing a generation for the better is a woman’s influence, especially in terms of skills and education of the children,” Adamu stated.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer, The Fashion Academy, Nina Yusuf-Kwande, said the programme is a women’s economic empowerment and poverty alleviation initiative targeted at young Nigerian women with a flair for a career in the fashion industry.

She said wastes collected from fashion designing houses by the academy have been converted to household items like table mats, kitchen gloves, apron, bags, pillow cushions among others.