Musawa: Operationalisation of $200m Afreximbank Funding to Begin June 1

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has stated that the $200 million African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) fund to support the tourism and creative Economy in Nigeria will commence operationalisation on June 1, 2025.

The minister also reiterated that efforts are in advanced stages through international finance partnerships to attract significant international investments, further accelerating growth in the tourism and creative economy.

“As part of the funding effort, the  Minister has secured a commitment of $200 million from AfreximBank, which will accelerate the building of the cultural and creative industries.

“This funding will go directly into the sector, and it will be operationalised by June 1, 2025, ensuring that Nigeria’s tourism and creative economy continue to flourish,” the minister noted in a statement yesterday.

She disclosed further that upbeat investors had already been in talks with the ministry since the unveiling of its policies to create a $100 billion economy in 2030.

The statement by the Special Assistant on Compliance and Coordination, Jummai Ali, highlighted the minister’s transformative efforts to establish Nigeria as a global tourism hub through the ministry’s innovative policies.

It quoted the minister as saying: “The ministry is focused on four strategic pillars to drive its economic diversification project.”

She listed the pillars to include: Data-driven insights through D-30 projects, stakeholders’ collaboration, and policy reforms alongside Infrastructure modernization via Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

“The other key pillar she highlighted was global tourism and cultural promotion through the ‘Nigeria Everywhere Brand,’ the statement added, noting that each initiative in the pillar is designed to impact Nigeria’s economy substantially.

The targets being pursued through the execution of these policies, she stressed, include doubling the tourism sector’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution, creating over 2 million jobs by 2030 and positioning Nigeria among the top 20 creative economies in the world.

The minister further reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment in making Nigeria a global tourism brand through its programmes and policies.

Additionally, the minister stated that $2 billion is being mobilised in global and local investments to support job creation and expand the creative economy to $100 billion by 2030.

The statement further disclosed that the minister’s leadership is already charting a transformative course for the sector through verifiable and actionable blueprints that align with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda on economic diversification and job creation.