L-R: Farai Ncube, Regional Arts Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, British Council; Mrs. Hannatu Musawa, Honourable Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism & Creative Economy; Donna McGowan, Country Director at the Creative Economy Week.

By Enam Obiosio

When the federal government of Nigeria not long age declared that the nation’s creative industry is ‘open for business’ and ripe for both local and foreign investment, it sent an important signal – not only of cultural pride but of market readiness.

The statement, made by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Mukhtar Mohammed, during the unveiling of the 2025 Creative Economy Week, was clear that the creative sector is no longer a sentimental national asset but an economic frontier for structured investment. Read more about the creative economy becoming Nigeria’s next investment goldmine: https://stakebridgeirpr.com/media/2025/10/21/nigerias-creative-economy-the-next-investment-goldmine/ . Yet, as promising as this message is, the next critical step must involve institutionalising investor relations (IR) – the discipline that builds the bridge between creative potential and capital trust.

Framing the Creative Industry as an Investment Asset Class

The creative sector – encompassing film, music, fashion, design, gaming, and the arts – is already one of Nigeria’s most visible global exports. Nollywood alone contributes over N850 billion annually to GDP, while Afrobeats dominates international charts and fashion from Lagos walks global runways.

But beyond the glitter lies a recurring challenge: creative capital is abundant in talent, but scarce in structure.

Investors, both local and international, seek predictable governance, transparent reporting, credible valuations, and investible business models – conditions that remain largely underdeveloped in the creative space.

This is where IR enters as a transformative mechanism. In integrating IR into the creative economy framework, Nigeria can convert its cultural assets into measurable, investible instruments – projects, funds, and companies with sustainable capital stories.

The IR Imperative: From Promotion to Transparency

Government declarations of ‘open for business’ are vital, but investor confidence requires more than rhetoric. It requires systems of trust, continuity, and disclosure.

An IR framework for Nigeria’s creative industry would achieve three things:

1. Provide Capital Clarity: Investors want to know where and how their money creates value. An IR approach maps financial performance, project ROI, and intellectual property (IP) valuation.
2. Ensure Regulatory Confidence: Through regular updates, performance reports, and disclosures, creative companies can demonstrate compliance with SEC, tax, and industry regulations.
3. Facilitate International Partnerships: A properly structured IR system signals that Nigeria’s creative sector adheres to global standards of governance – a crucial factor for cross-border investment from partners like the British Council or DFIs.

Without such structure, investment discussions remain abstract, and many creative projects will continue to rely on informal financing, grants, or short-term sponsorships.

Institutional Collaboration and IR Integration

The 2025 Creative Economy Week and the Nigeria–UK collaboration actually presented a strong foundation for IR-led structuring. The British Council’s involvement offers technical expertise in creative financing and intellectual property (IP) protection – areas central to IR practice.

• Policy Signalling and Narrative Management

Investor relations is, at its core, a communication strategy. The Federal Ministry’s public statements must now evolve into continuous investor communications – quarterly creative economy scorecards, sectoral data sheets, pipeline reports, and impact updates.

This transforms the narrative from an event-based announcement into a strategic investment dialogue that investors can track, analyse, and trust.

• Establishing a Creative Investment Desk

Just as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) created a Small Business Capital Formation Office, the Creative Economy Ministry can establish a Creative Investment & Investor Relations Desk.

This desk would serve as:

• A central information hub for local and foreign investors;
• A project transparency registry for creative enterprises;
• A reporting channel that links ministries, investors, and creative entrepreneurs.

Such a desk could maintain a rolling database of investible creative projects – film studios, art hubs, creative-tech startups, and festival franchises – complete with verified financials, governance structures, and expected returns.

Investor Relations as Cultural Capital Management

Creative industries are powered by intellectual property (IP) – copyrights, trademarks, and brand equity – all of which are intangible assets. Managing investor trust in intangible value requires structured storytelling and evidence-based reporting.

This is precisely what Investor Relations does.

An IR approach to IP management would:

• Translate creativity into financial performance indicators;
• Build transparent valuation models for content ownership;
• Clarify revenue-sharing structures for co-productions and global partnerships.

Through this process, creative businesses can shift from project funding to equity investment – where investors become long-term partners in creative value creation.

De-Risking the Creative Sector Through IR Discipline

The Permanent Secretary’s emphasis on “building frameworks that de-risk and incentivise investment” is crucial. IR supports this ambition by introducing consistent disclosure and governance templates, which make risk quantifiable and manageable.

When investors see:

• Audited project accounts,
• Verified ownership structures,
• Regular investor updates,
• Independent board representation,

they see credibility.

IR thus becomes the language through which creativity speaks to capital markets – shifting perception from artistic unpredictability to investible innovation.

Building an IR Ecosystem Around the Creative Economy

To institutionalise investor relations practice within the creative sector, several structural steps are needed:

• Establish a Creative Capital Market Window

In collaboration with the NASD Plc and the SEC, the Creative Economy Ministry could launch a “Creative Assets Exchange Window” – an OTC platform where creative enterprises and funds can trade project-based securities or bonds under SEC supervision.

• Introduce a Creative Industry Investor Relations Code

This Code, adapted from global best practices, would define disclosure standards, investor communication protocols, and financial reporting frameworks tailored to creative enterprises.

•  Launch a Creative Investor Relations Training Programme

Through partnerships with the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, IR Society of Nigeria, and British Council, government can train creative entrepreneurs, investors, and fund managers in the fundamentals of IR – from disclosure ethics to capital communication.

• Develop an Annual Creative Economy Investor Report

Just as the Nigerian Exchange publishes market reviews, the Ministry of Arts and Culture should produce an annual Creative Economy Investor Report, showcasing sector data, case studies, funding performance, and global investment pipelines.

Linking Creative Diplomacy with Investor Relations

A subtle but powerful dimension of this story is creative diplomacy – the use of culture to attract goodwill and capital.

Investor Relations extends this soft power by framing Nigeria’s creative economy as a credible investment destination. Every music award, film release, or fashion show becomes part of a national investor narrative that combines cultural influence with economic opportunity.

In this sense, IR is not only about reporting; it is about nation branding – shaping how Nigeria’s creative output translates into sustainable investor confidence and capital inflows.

The British Council Partnership: A Case Study in IR Signalling

The partnership between Nigeria and the British Council, highlighted in this year’s Creative Economy Week, represents a model of how structured partnerships can reinforce investor confidence.

By showcasing clear objectives – intellectual property protection, entrepreneurship training, and market access – the partnership aligns with IR principles of clarity, accountability, and mutual value.

This approach reassures both sides that the relationship is not one of aid, but of co-investment and shared prosperity – the same logic IR promotes between companies and their shareholders.

The Future: Building a Creative Investment Architecture

The next frontier is to formalise Nigeria’s creative economy as an investment architecture – supported by IR systems that provide:

• Standardised valuation models for creative assets;
• Reliable performance indices for creative funds;
• Investor grievance mechanisms; and
• Transparent policy communication channels.

When investor relations is institutionalised within the creative ecosystem, Nigeria can transition from global admiration to global participation – from cultural export to capital inflow.

Nigeria’s creative sector is ready – vibrant, visible, and globally influential. But readiness must now evolve into investor reliability.

Investor Relations provides the structure, language, and transparency to make this transition possible. It ensures that policy signals are matched with credible reporting, that partnerships are measurable, and that creativity is translated into economic value.

If the creative economy is to become Nigeria’s next trillion-naira growth engine, then Investor Relations must become its financial conscience – the framework through which art meets accountability, and storytelling meets strategy.

The Federal Ministry’s declaration that “Nigeria’s creative industry is open for business” is therefore only the beginning. The real investment story begins when every creative enterprise – from Nollywood studios to design houses – learns to communicate not only with passion, but with precision, governance, and investor trust.

That is the language global capital understands. That is the future Investor Relations must now build for Nigeria’s creative economy.