Nigeria Launches Ambitious Nationwide Creative Infrastructure Plan in Strategic Partnership with Chocolate City Group
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In a groundbreaking move to transform the nation’s creative landscape, the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy (FMACTCE) has entered into a three-year strategic partnership with Chocolate City Group, one of Nigeria’s foremost media and entertainment companies.
The agreement, formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday in Abuja, aims to reposition Nigeria’s creative industries as a major driver of economic growth, job creation, and global cultural influence.
Under the terms of the partnership, the focus will be on four key pillars: developing small-scale live arenas across the country, nurturing new and emerging talent, establishing global distribution channels for Nigerian creative content, and strengthening the frameworks for intellectual property protection.
Together, these initiatives are intended to unlock the vast potential of Nigeria’s creative economy, particularly in the areas of music, live entertainment, and content creation.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, highlighted the critical importance of the creative industries to Nigeria’s future economic prosperity.
“Nigeria’s creative industries represent one of our greatest untapped economic resources, with the potential to contribute significantly to GDP growth, job creation, and foreign exchange earnings,” Musawa said. “This partnership with Chocolate City exemplifies our commitment to harnessing the power of public-private collaboration to build sustainable creative ecosystems that empower Nigerian talent and showcase our cultural wealth globally.”
The timing of the partnership, industry leaders say, could not be more crucial. According to Chocolate City Group’s Co-Founder and Chairman, Audu Maikori, recent reports estimate that Nigeria’s music industry alone generates approximately $2 billion annually—a substantial share of the $26 billion global music market.
“Afrobeats has emerged as Nigeria’s most powerful cultural ambassador, opening doors for our artists on the global stage,” Maikori said. “Beyond music, it serves as a vital tool for diplomacy and national branding. This collaboration provides the institutional support and infrastructure necessary to sustain the momentum and create structured pathways for the next generation of Nigerian creative talents.”
He stressed that issues such as inadequate distribution channels, limited infrastructure, and weak rights protection frameworks have historically constrained the full realization of the sector’s potential. By joining forces with the government, Maikori said, these challenges can now be strategically addressed.
Echoing these sentiments, Paul Okeugo, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Chocolate City Group, pointed to the wider economic benefits of the partnership.
“When we develop performance venues and creative spaces across Nigeria, we’re not just benefiting artists,” Okeugo said.
“We are creating employment opportunities across multiple sectors—sound engineering, event management, security, hospitality, and beyond.
“This partnership allows us to build a creative economy that is inclusive, sustainable, and nationally scaled, while also ensuring that Nigerian creators maintain ownership of their intellectual property and reap the rewards of their creativity”, he added.
The initiative will be overseen by a Joint Working Committee composed of representatives from both FMACTCE and Chocolate City Group. This committee will be tasked with identifying and executing specific projects designed to meet the partnership’s objectives. Among the expected outcomes are the empowerment of local talent, the fostering of entrepreneurship, the enhancement of Nigeria’s global creative footprint, and the development of vital infrastructure supporting the creative economy.
This announcement also marks a pivotal moment for Chocolate City Group as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. Since its founding in 2005, the company has evolved from a record label into an integrated entertainment powerhouse. It has played a critical role in promoting African music globally, discovering and developing top artists such as Femi Kuti, Blaqbonez, Young Jonn, and Ice Prince.
The partnership aligns with the Federal Government’s broader “Nigeria Destination 2030” initiative—a sweeping national effort aimed at positioning Nigeria as a top-tier global destination for tourism, investment, and cultural exchange by the end of the decade. Nigeria Destination 2030 seeks to diversify the national economy through coordinated policy reforms, infrastructure expansion, and dynamic partnerships between government and private sector actors.
With the creative industries increasingly seen as a vital pillar of national development, the collaboration between FMACTCE and Chocolate City is widely regarded as a model for effective public-private partnership, offering a blueprint for how nations can leverage cultural assets to drive economic transformation.
As Nigeria embarks on this ambitious journey, stakeholders across the arts, culture, and tourism sectors are watching closely, hopeful that this initiative will not only energize the creative economy but also reframe Nigeria’s place on the global stage as a vibrant hub of culture, innovation, and economic opportunity.
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