Wale Tinubu says Nigeria’s creativity can become a major export industry, creating jobs, attracting foreign exchange and building sustainable businesses

Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, called for a fundamental rethink of Nigeria’s creative economy in New York during the US-Nigeria Council breakfast at the 81st United Nations General Assembly, arguing that the country’s creative talent could become a major export industry.

Also read: Oando Boss Wale Tinubu Celebrates Shettima at 60, Commends His Service to the Nation

Tinubu said Nigeria should look beyond viewing music, film, fashion and other creative fields primarily as cultural and entertainment products, and instead develop the commercial structures needed to turn them into sustainable businesses.

“We need to think about the creative arts differently: not just as culture and entertainment, but as an export industry,” he said.

According to Tinubu, Nigeria’s creative economy is currently valued at about $6.4 billion, while the country’s music industry generated more than $600 million in 2024.

He also pointed to the international reach of Afrobeats, noting that Nigerian music had recorded more than 2.2 billion global streams on Spotify.

For Tinubu, the figures demonstrate that Nigerian creative products already have significant international demand. The bigger challenge, he suggested, is ensuring that creators and businesses can capture a greater share of the economic value generated by that demand.

“The opportunity is to build the investment and commercial structures that enable our creators to retain more of the value they generate, build sustainable enterprises, and allow Nigeria to capture more of the value our talent is already creating globally,” he said.

The Oando chief executive placed particular emphasis on the employment potential of the sector, noting that the creative economy supports a wide network of businesses and professionals beyond performers themselves.

Music, film, fashion, digital content and related creative services can generate opportunities for producers, writers, designers, marketers, technology companies and other service providers.

Tinubu argued that stronger financing, investment and commercial infrastructure would be crucial if Nigeria is to turn its creative influence into long-term economic value.

“Our creativity is cultural influence. It is also economic power,” he said.

His remarks come as Nigerian creative works continue to gain international visibility, particularly through the global expansion of Afrobeats and the growing international audience for Nollywood.

The growing reach of Nigerian music has already created new commercial opportunities for artists, record labels, streaming platforms and other participants in the entertainment ecosystem.

The film industry has similarly expanded its international footprint, while Nigerian fashion designers and digital creators have increasingly built audiences beyond the country’s borders.

Tinubu’s argument is that this growing global visibility should be matched by stronger domestic structures capable of converting cultural popularity into measurable economic returns.

That could include greater access to financing, stronger intellectual property protection, improved distribution networks and investment models that allow creators to retain more value from their work.

The call also fits into the wider debate over Nigeria’s efforts to diversify its sources of foreign exchange and reduce reliance on traditional commodity exports.

Rather than treating creative output as a secondary cultural asset, Tinubu wants intellectual property, entertainment and other creative services to be considered part of Nigeria’s broader export strategy.

The scale of the opportunity, he suggested, lies not only in the popularity of Nigerian culture overseas but in the businesses that can be built around that popularity.

Also read: Oando Boss Wale Tinubu Celebrates Shettima at 60, Commends His Service to the Nation

If the necessary commercial ecosystem is developed, Nigeria’s creative talent could become an increasingly important source of employment, investment and foreign exchange while strengthening the country’s cultural influence abroad.