The UK Nigeria Technology Hub has unveiled its Creative Fund, a first phase grant programme aimed at addressing critical technical capacity gaps across Nigeria’s film, fashion, and music industries. The initiative is designed to strengthen local production capabilities by supporting access to modern creative technologies, while also promoting the responsible use of artificial intelligence within the country’s rapidly expanding creative ecosystem.
The fund aligns with the objectives of the UK Nigeria Economic Transformation and Investment Partnership Creatives Working Group, launched in March 2025, and builds on commitments made during the state visit of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the United Kingdom in March 2026. Backed by the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme and implemented by Tech4Dev, the initiative draws from findings of a 2024 study on Nigeria’s creative innovation ecosystem, which highlighted both the sector’s economic relevance and its persistent structural challenges.
According to the report, Nigeria’s creative economy employs an estimated 4.2 million people and contributes about three billion dollars annually to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. However, more than 80 per cent of practitioners remain self taught, with fewer than 10 per cent having access to formal financing, while a significant portion of high value technical work is still outsourced abroad.
Director of the UK Nigeria Tech Hub, Oyinkansola Akintola Bello, said the Creative Fund represents a shift from policy ambition to practical intervention, aimed at closing gaps in skills, infrastructure, and access to advanced production tools, thereby enabling creatives to produce and scale quality work locally.
The fund will support high potential projects across film, fashion, and music, particularly those capable of generating jobs and delivering measurable impact. It will provide subsidies for projects requiring specialised expertise such as visual effects artists, sound engineers, and post production professionals, as well as digital tools including content delivery systems and artificial intelligence driven production technologies.
Country Manager for Nigeria and Sub Saharan Africa at Tech4Dev, Abraham Akpan, noted that the initiative prioritises inclusion by expanding opportunities for women led enterprises, youth driven ventures, and underrepresented groups. Applications are now open on a rolling basis, with entries to be assessed based on quality, scalability, and commitment to co investment, as stakeholders push to ensure that Nigeria’s best creative works are conceived and produced within the country.