The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has urged Nigerian entrepreneurs in the fashion, leather and creative industries to take advantage of the 1.4 billion-person market offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), while calling for greater investment and improved access to finance to help businesses scale.

The call was made at the weekend during the Enterprise Spotlight on Fashion, Leather and Creative Industries, convened by the Lagos State Government and UNDP under the theme, “Crafting Prosperity: Connecting African Creativity to Markets, Capital and Growth.”

Speaking at the event, Ahunna Eziakonwa, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa, said the AfCFTA presents a major opportunity for African businesses to expand beyond their domestic markets.

She said the agreement provides access to a market of about 1.4 billion people, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to sell their products across the continent and source raw materials tariff-free.

Eziakonwa urged entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity to grow their businesses, stressing that Africa’s creative sector is well-positioned to compete globally.

“We must grow locally, produce locally, sell locally but also internationally, and we must be proud of Made in Africa,” she said.

She described the creative industry as a powerful “orange economy” driven by talent, innovation and resilience, adding that the sector is helping to shape a new economic narrative for Nigeria and the continent.

Eziakonwa, however, identified limited access to finance as a major challenge preventing many creative businesses from expanding and meeting international export standards.

She called on governments to create enabling environments by providing more hubs where entrepreneurs, investors and financiers can collaborate, while urging private investors to channel more capital into creative enterprises.

According to her, talent and creativity are abundant, but financing remains critical to improving quality, increasing production and accessing export markets.

Also speaking, Elsie G. Attafuah, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, said the event highlighted the quality of products being produced by Nigerian entrepreneurs, particularly in the leather and fashion industries.

She said many businesses have demonstrated the capacity to produce export-quality shoes, bags and clothing but require financing tailored to the needs of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to enable them to scale.

Attafuah also identified inadequate energy supply as a major constraint to production, calling for investments in industrial clusters to provide reliable power for manufacturers.

She further advocated stronger collaboration among states to strengthen leather value chains and boost local production, noting that partnerships among governments, development organisations, private investors and impact investors would be essential to unlocking the sector’s full potential.

She added that positioning Nigerian businesses to benefit from the AfCFTA market would require sustained investment, stronger partnerships and improved access to finance.