Financing Conference Will Take Creative Industry To Golden Era – Minister

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said
the Creative Industry Financing Conference, scheduled to hold 17-18
July 2017, will take the industry into a golden era of smooth access
to short and long term financing, world class management as well as
local and international distribution.

The Minister spoke in Lagos on Thursday, at a press conference he
called to formally announce the event, which the Federal Ministry of
Information and Culture is organizing in conjunction with the Think
Tank Media and Advertising.

He said the two-day conference was conceived ”because of our
realization that lack of access to financing is stunting the growth of
the Creative Industry”

Alhaji Mohammed recalled that the conference is the latest in a series
of conferences and other events that have been held by the ministry to
boost the industry, citing others as the National Summit on Culture
and Tourism held last year to chart the path for the industry, the
Roundtable on the Creative Industry held in Lagos last Monday and the
MoUs with the Bank of Industry, Tony Elumelu Foundation and the
British Council.

”As you are undoubtedly aware, this Administration attaches a whole
lot of importance to the Creative Industry. This is in line with its
cardinal programme of diversifying the economy away from oil,” he
said, adding: ”There is no better
demonstration of the high priority given to the Creative Industry than
the fact that the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, himself will
declare open the Creative Industry Financing Conference.”

The Minister said the overall essence of the Ministry’s efforts is to
transform the Creative Industry to a Creative Economy.

”We also believe that this transformation must be driven by the
private sector, with the government providing the
enabling environment,” he said.