Digital Platform from FG Set to Unlock $100bn from Tourism, Creative Industries — full story

Nigeria's Federal Government has rolled out a new digital data platform, intending to draw significant investment into the nation's vibrant tourism and creative sectors. This strategic move is part of an ambitious plan to achieve a $100 billion contribution to the gross domestic product and generate more than three million employment opportunities from these industries by the year 2030. Hannatu Musawa, the Minister overseeing Art, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy, made this announcement on Tuesday in Abuja, at the formal unveiling of the D30 Platform, which is also identified as Destination 2030.

Musawa explained that this initiative was conceived to tackle persistent deficiencies in dependable and readily available data concerning Nigeria's creative and tourism industries. She highlighted these data gaps as a significant barrier preventing the full realization of these sectors' economic promise. According to her, the D30 platform will equip investors, governmental bodies, businesses, and entrepreneurs with crucial information, enabling them to pinpoint opportunities, evaluate existing infrastructure shortcomings, and ultimately make well-informed investment choices.

The Minister emphasized the significance of the launch, stating, “Today, we are not simply unveiling a technology platform. We are taking a deliberate step towards changing how Nigeria understands, measures and harnesses the economic value of its cultural and creative assets.” She further noted that Nigeria boasts immense potential across its music, film, fashion, visual arts, literature, cultural heritage, and tourism sites, all capable of generating substantial revenue, sustaining livelihoods, and fostering national progress. However, Musawa lamented the historical absence of comprehensive data necessary to ascertain the full scope of available opportunities and the required investments for their development. She reiterated, “We have not always had the reliable, accessible and comprehensive data required to understand the true scale of our opportunities.”

Musawa elaborated that the D30 platform's creation aims to centralize sectoral data, research findings, geographical mapping, and economic intelligence. This consolidated resource is intended to underpin evidence-based policy formulation and stimulate private-sector investments. To illustrate its utility, she gave examples such as investors looking to set up film production studios, state governments planning new tourist attractions, and entrepreneurs seeking to grow their creative enterprises. Musawa stated, “These are the kinds of decisions we want D30 to support. We want to move from fragmented information to coordinated intelligence, from untapped potential to visible opportunities, and from economic possibilities to actual investments and sustainable jobs.”

The Minister highlighted that the new platform aligns perfectly with the economic diversification goals embedded within President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. She further revealed that her ministry’s strategic blueprint aims for the creation of over three million jobs and a $100 billion contribution to Nigeria’s GDP by 2030. Nevertheless, she underscored that realizing these ambitious targets would necessitate synchronized efforts, well-planned investments, robust institutional frameworks, enhanced infrastructure, and a supportive environment for commercial activities. Musawa clarified, “D30 is not intended to be another government database that simply accumulates information. Its purpose is to support decisions. Decisions that help businesses expand. Decisions that guide investors towards viable opportunities. Decisions that enable government to deploy resources more effectively.”

Musawa also drew attention to the symbiotic relationship between tourism and the creative economy. She observed that elements like Nigerian music, films, festivals, and cultural heritage possess the power to spark international interest in the country as a prime destination, thereby boosting demand for hospitality services and local industries. She explained that the platform was envisioned as a unified intelligence tool, designed to link opportunities across both sectors, instead of addressing them as distinct economic domains.

The Minister appealed to various stakeholders, including ministries, departments, and agencies, state governments, industry associations, private-sector entities, and research institutions, to actively contribute to this initiative. She affirmed the government's intention to create a collaborative structure that would safeguard the integrity and privacy of all submitted information, while simultaneously ensuring that credible, published intelligence is available to all relevant parties. Musawa concluded, “The true value of D30 will be measured by the opportunities it reveals, the investment it helps unlock, the enterprises it supports, and the jobs it helps create.”

Musawa extended her commendation to Cavista, the ministry’s technology development partner, acknowledging their vital role in providing the technical expertise necessary for the platform's development. She further implored all stakeholders to concentrate on converting the available data into tangible economic benefits. Delivering the welcome address, Abdulkarim Ozi, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, emphasized that the D30 platform marks a significant achievement in the ongoing drive to fully exploit the economic promise held within Nigeria's cultural and creative resources. Ozi articulated that Nigeria’s vibrant music and film industries, fashion sector, visual arts, and numerous tourism destinations possess the capacity to draw substantial investment and generate employment, provided they are underpinned by accurate information and adequate infrastructure. He reiterated that the platform is poised to enhance access to crucial economic intelligence, thereby assisting government institutions, investors, and businesses in their strategic planning.