Tech4Dev, UK–Nigeria Tech Hub launch report, tracker for Nigeria’s creative ecosystem

By Tosin Brown –

The Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4Dev) has launched the Nigeria Creative Ecosystem Report Dissemination and Creative Tracker.

The launch, organised in collaboration with the UK–Nigeria Tech Hub under the Digital Access Programme funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, was held on Thursday, August 21, 2025, at the Radisson Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

As part of the event, Tech4Dev also released a 150-page report on the economic value and growth potential of Nigeria’s creative industry. The comprehensive document, titled State of Creative Innovation Ecosystem in Nigeria Report 2025, presented key insights and opportunities for growth and global expansion across the film, music, fashion, and content creation industries.

The report also examined the value chain of these four sectors, detailing processes from creation to consumption.

Speaking at the event, Tech4Dev founder and president, Joel Ogunsola, expressed excitement about the initiative and the support received over the past year. “We are super excited about the support we’ve received from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, as well as from states like Lagos, Kwara, and Plateau. This is only the beginning of the work we intend to do,” he said.

Ogunsola added that feedback from stakeholders would shape the next phase of the project, noting that the tracker aims to identify existing gaps and map out the future of Nigeria’s creative economy.

Tech4Dev co-founder and executive director, Oladiwura Oladepo, highlighted the economic importance of the creative sector, describing it as the second-largest employer of labour in Nigeria. She stressed the need for adequate data to fully harness the industry’s potential, explaining that the report was based on a robust sample size of over 1,700 participants drawn from interviews and consultative sessions.

Michael John, a senior partner at Avaara Partners and former country manager of Tech4Dev, described the Creative Economy Tracker as an open-source platform that can be used by policymakers, investors, and industry stakeholders. He noted that the study, which marked the close-out of the Nigeria Creative Growth and Innovation Initiative, explored opportunities and challenges facing the industry, particularly from a value-chain perspective.

According to him, the research addressed key questions such as how creators acquire skills, generate ideas, transform them into products, distribute them, earn revenue, and access skilled manpower.

Director of the UK–Nigeria Tech Hub, Oyinkansola Akintola-Bello, said the tracker will provide actionable data for informed decision-making. She explained that it covers seven states across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, offering insights into the creative industry’s performance in each region.

Akintola-Bello added that the tracker will promote growth, innovation, and employment, while positioning Nigeria’s creative sector as part of a wider effort to boost the digital economy in Nigeria and other partner countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Indonesia, and Brazil.