Culture ministry unveils initiative to empower creative entrepreneurs

The Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy has launched the Creative Leap Acceleration Program (CLAP), an initiative aimed at empowering creative entrepreneurs and promoting Nigeria’s cultural industries. At the unveiling ceremony in Abuja,on Tuesday, the Minister of Culture, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, explained that CLAP is designed to provide support for creative businesses, […]

The Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy has launched the Creative Leap Acceleration Program (CLAP), an initiative aimed at empowering creative entrepreneurs and promoting Nigeria’s cultural industries.

At the unveiling ceremony in Abuja,on Tuesday, the Minister of Culture, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, explained that CLAP is designed to provide support for creative businesses, foster innovation, and drive economic growth.

“Our vision to the destination 2030 is to position Nigeria as a global hub of arts, culture and the creative, contributing about 100 billion dollars to increase our GDP. This represents a 20 fold increase from the current state and it is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the creative economy”.

“Our goals and objectives for CLAP are three folds: capacity building, incubation and innovation, collaboration and partnerships. We are establishing creative clusters and centers of excellence that will strive to incubate us to new ideas and enterprises. Strategic partnerships with renowned organizations such Afri-Exim Bank, Google and others to provide a wider range of resources, expertise and opportunities to our creatives”.

She lauded the visionary leadership and unwavering support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu which she said has been instrumental by recognizing the importance of establishing the ministry of art, culture and the creative economy.

This foresight, she maintained is in understanding the potential impact of the creative sector on economic growth which has paved way to embark on a transformative journey such as CLAP, aimed at harnessing the boundless potential of our creative minds.

She said CLAP will synergize seamlessly with the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC)’s innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship project with a private management model which will help in effectively addressing local challenges as well as harness the unique culture and strength of each region.

On his part, the Director General of NCAC, Mr. Obi Asika said the Council’s partnership with the Ministry on CLAP comes with the ability to reach physical locations from where one can build a larger network that will embrace the ecosystem.

He disclosed that already, about 200 locations that will serve as creative and tech hubs for the capacity building of the youths are ready, with the Council having about 14 locations while the others are spread across the various agencies within the ministry.

Another area to leverage is the NCAC’s partnership with the Committee of Vice Chancellors which boasts of 275 locations across the country with digital labs that are expected to be used under the ICE network which is expected to serve as the implementation arm and a plug-in for CLAP