Request for Applications: Creative Economy Development Fund (Nigeria)

The CEDF is designed to catalyze growth, innovation, and sustainable financing for Nigeria’s creative and cultural industries, in line with the government’s commitment to creating jobs, stimulating economic diversification, and boosting Nigeria’s global cultural footprint.

The Fund represents a significant national investment in the creative sector, recognizing its potential as a driver of economic growth and cultural diplomacy.

Key Objectives of the CEDF

• Stimulating Growth in Creative and Cultural Industries:
  • Providing the capital injection needed for businesses in sectors such as film, music, fashion, art, publishing, gaming, and cultural tourism to expand production and reach new markets.
• Increasing Access to Finance:
  • Opening up new financing avenues for creative entrepreneurs and organizations, including those who previously lacked access to traditional bank loans or investors.
• Supporting Job Creation and Economic Diversification:
  • Empowering creative businesses to scale up will lead to the creation of new jobs and livelihoods, especially for youth, while diversifying Nigeria’s economy beyond oil and other traditional sectors.
• Leveraging Intellectual Property (IP) as an Asset:
  • Establishing a transformative model for securitizing and collateralizing intellectual property. Creative talents will be able to leverage their IP (such as film rights, musical works, or digital content) as viable assets to secure financing – a pioneering move to unlock the value of Nigeria’s rich creative content.

Fund Structure

• To achieve these objectives, the CEDF will be structured with multiple financing windows tailored to different needs in the creative sector:
  • Debt Financing Window
    • Offering affordable loans and credit facilities to viable creative businesses. This window will provide debt funding to creative startups and enterprises that can demonstrate capacity for repayment, helping them expand operations or complete projects.
  • Equity/Quasi-Equity Window
    • Providing equity investments or quasi-equity support (such as convertible instruments) in promising creative business. Through this window, the CEDF can take an investment stake in high- growth potential projects – from film productions to fashion labels – enabling scaling while sharing in future successes. This equity approach injects long- term capital and business support, rather than just debt, into the industry.
  • Grant Funding Window
    • A dedicated grant facility to back innovative ideas and cultural projects that may not yet be bankable but have high impact potential. This grant fund will be professionally managed to generate a sustainable stream of income, which in turn will finance grants for early-stage or socially beneficial creative projects (for example, community arts programs, experimental films, or heritage preservation initiatives).

Funding Information

• Phase 2 of this Call will prioritize proposals from MSME and SME businesses (under $100,000)

Who can apply for funding?

• Individual Creators, Entrepreneurs, and Businesses operating in Nigeria’s creative and cultural industries.
• Businesses operating within the tourism industry that are linked to the cultural and creative aspects of the value chain, including infrastructure.
• Must demonstrate a viable project plan, legal rights to use any relevant IP, and alignment with the Fund’s mission to strengthen the creative sector.

For more information, visit FMACTCE.