According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s creative sector, encompassing media, entertainment, beauty, lifestyle, visual arts, tourism and hospitality is projected to soar to a staggering worth of $15 billion by 2025.
Nigeria’s creative economy is vast and diverse as it houses creatives from different ethnic groups and can be described as ‘the interface between creativity, culture, economics and technology.’
AYKO Agency, a talent and modelling agency born out of shared passion of the cofounders, Koya Onagoruwa and Ayoola Bakare to discover and nurture raw African models and showcase them to the world has said that they are of the notion that with enormous potential, driven by the youth, growing urbanisation and shifting consumption patterns, and a once undervalued industry is now poised to become a significant economic force, filling the void left by other industries in the nation.
Given that Africa, as a continent, only accounts for one percent of the global creative industry, according to AYKO Agency, Africa’s ability to create has been somewhat constrained by factors like poor infrastructure, restricted access to funding and markets, intellectual property issues, and a lack of supportive policies and regulations.
In a bid to address these challenges to enable Nigeria not only meet projected $15 billion in 2025 but surpass it and double in the coming years, AYKO Agency held the maiden ‘Social Gathering on Nigeria’s Creative Economy’, a networking and social gathering that focuses on individuals with interests in Nigeria’s creative industry.