By Mary Izuaka

 

The Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu, has described Nigeria’s creative industry as a major export opportunity with significant economic potential.

Mr Tinubu spoke at the US-Nigeria Council breakfast during the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), according to a statement posted on his X handle on Monday.

He said Nigeria’s creative economy is valued at $6.4 billion, noting that music alone generated over $600 million in 2024, with Afrobeats recording more than 2.2 billion global Spotify streams.

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

According to him, the creative sector is labour-intensive, creates jobs, earns foreign exchange and has the potential to become a far greater contributor to national revenue.

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Mr Tinubu said the opportunity lies in building investment and commercial structures that enable creators to retain more of the value they generate.

“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.

He added that Nigeria’s creativity represents both cultural influence and economic power.

“Our creativity is cultural influence. It is also economic power,” Mr Tinubu added.