New Report Reveals What’s Really Holding Back Nigeria’s Creative Economy—And It’s Not the Talent

Nigeria’s creative output has conquered the world, but a groundbreaking new report confirms what industry insiders have long suspected: the infrastructure supporting that creativity is struggling to keep pace. NECLive, in collaboration with Frontyard Group, has just dropped The State of Nigeria’s Creative Economy 2026, a data-driven deep dive that finally puts concrete numbers to the frustrations felt across the music, film, fashion, and broader creative sectors.

The report surveyed 377 creative professionals across eight industries in the aftermath of NECLive 2025, and the findings are as clear as they are urgent. Nigeria isn’t facing a talent shortage—anyone streaming Afrobeats globally knows that. The real bottleneck lies in the systems meant to support that talent: unreliable infrastructure, bureaucratic headaches, problematic payment platforms, and insufficient access to proper financing and training. Tomiwo Ojo, Head of Content at ID Africa, captured the moment perfectly: “We have never lacked influence. What we have lacked is evidence about the machinery beneath that influence and the honest conversation that evidence makes possible. A sector that can name its own constraints is a sector ready to be built.”

What makes this report particularly valuable is its shift from celebration to action. Instead of just highlighting problems, it delivers specific, actionable recommendations aimed at government bodies, investors, and private sector players. These aren’t theoretical concerns—they’re the lived realities of working creatives who are building global culture while navigating broken systems at home. The full report is now available for free download at nec.ng, offering policymakers and industry stakeholders a blueprint for finally catching up to the talent that’s been leading the way all along.

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