Nigeria’s creative industry employs 4.2 million Nigerians

By Juliet Umeh

The Nigerian creative economy is continually getting robust. It is becoming so huge that it now engages more than four million Nigerian youth who ordinarily would have been unemployed.

According to statistics, the creative economy employs 4.2 million Nigerians and has been estimated to add 2.7 million more by 2025.

According to a Jobberman’s research, the creative sector is the second-largest employer in the country, and has the potential to create an additional 2.7 million jobs by 2025.

The report even noted that the creative economy contributes over 6.1 percent to global gross domestic product, GDP, averaging between 2% and 7% of national GDPs worldwide.

This was also corroborated by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, which says the entertainment industry accounts for 1.45% of Nigeria’s GDP.

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And, now, to engineer more contributions from the Nigerian content creators to the economy and also attract more youth in order to reduce unemployment, the federal government has been urged to commit more investment in the sector.

The creator economy is a small part of a larger microcosm known as the gig economy. It comprises the side hustles and independent businesses built by content creators, social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers.

While speaking at their gathering in Lagos in an event tagged: ‘Homecoming’ an event held to amplify the activities of the creators, one of the sponsors of the event AMAKA Studio advised that federal government, FG can collaborate with private institutions who are into content creation in order to reach more creators thereby contributing more to the economy of the nation.

Amaka Studio is a social publishing platform empowering Pan-African creators to amplify and monetise their content.

In an interview with CEO and founder of AMAKA Studios, Adaora Oramah, in order to encourage more jobs for the youths of Nigeria,

Orumah said: “Obviously, young people are the future to this country and they’re obviously very actively engaged in the creative space.

“So I think, investment in this space means job creation. Government need to partner more with private institutions who are in this space to have a better understanding of how to reach young people.”

Oramah noted that the government needs to preserve the local talents.

“We need government institutions to have more regulations, to preserve local talent. Sometimes, a lot of people go abroad to commission talent, but we need to have more homegrown talent. I know they’ve introduced that recently with modeling as well.

Government needs to do a better job of protecting people’s creativity, making sure they have more opportunities, and also prioritizing local talent over those abroad,“ she added.

Speaking on Amaka Studio, Orumah said:

“AMAKA Studio gives a lot of autonomy to its creators, providing them with a space that centres African stories and allows for them to monetise their creativity.

“They can leverage the platform to forge their own relationships, build their influence, and create strong connections which will help them grow and flourish. Since its inception, AMAKA Studio has prioritised providing African creators with digital tools for content creation and the infrastructure for monetisation.

“We are always asking how we can leverage this platform to ensure there are increased growth opportunities for African creators on the continent.

“We are invested in supporting and growing talent from Africa, allowing them to feel empowered to share their stories. They are given a space to bring these to life and the opportunity to monetise their voices which is so important considering the economic challenges and disadvantages that have faced Africans across and beyond the continent.” she added.

Over the past three years, the AMAKA Studio story has itself evolved to become a diverse and engaging space within which creators and brands have thrived. Moving forward, the platform will be expanding to allow creators and brands to establish direct working relationships and to enjoy a variety of automated and intelligent tools. Driven by social content creation, the platform will continue to focus on job creation and opportunities for African content creators who have been routinely excluded in the past.

“We are bridging the gap, rebuilding financial tools, and providing services that allow content creators and creatives to access jobs and financing, expand networks and so much more,” concludes Oramah. “We are expanding what we can do with the platform and what creators can do within the platform to encourage financial growth and personal financial security.” concludes Oramah.

Vanguard Media Limited