The French Development Agency (AFD) is collaborating with the Nigerian government, specifically the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Industry (BOI), to bolster Nigeria’s Creative and Culture Industry (CCI) through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (I-DICE) program,leadership report.
During a recent press conference in Paris, France, Celine Gilquin, Head of Social Link at AFD, unveiled this initiative. AFD’s support for CCIs in Nigeria through I-DICE totals €100 million and is part of its new mandate since 2018 to globally support CCIs, with a particular focus on audiovisual, digital, and cultural heritage projects.
I-DICE, a $618 million funding initiative involving the Nigerian government, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and AFD, aims to stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation among young Nigerians in the digital technology and creative sectors. It provides mentorship and funding to youths in these industries.
AFD considers CCIs as a crucial driver of development, given their impact on employment, economic development, social cohesion, and integration. In Nigeria, AFD is collaborating with local authorities, particularly the Ministry of Finance and BOI, on an ambitious vocational training program, I-DICE, with a component dedicated to CCIs.
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AFD has recognized the vibrancy of Nigeria’s creative scene across various domains, with a strong emphasis on animation, education, fashion, and design sectors as potential cultural and creative industries that can contribute to the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Out of its €36.1 million grant commitment to the global CCI sector, AFD’s grant support for Africa’s CCIs in 2022 amounts to €20.2 million.
While AFD primarily engages in macro projects in cooperation with governments based on countries’ requests, the agency acknowledges the roles played by civil societies and cultural entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural industries. Therefore, AFD has flagship projects, Accès Culture and Afrique Creative, with values of two million and three million euros, respectively, to aid in funding small-scale cultural initiatives in Africa.
Accès Culture, conducted in partnership with Institut Francais (IF), funds cultural projects with substantial social impact conducted by local civil societies and cultural entrepreneurs along with French associations. Additionally, Afrique Creative offers technical and financial support to creative entrepreneurs through its incubation project.
Since their inception in 2019, both projects have been renewed for second and third editions, with an investment of over €5.25 million, supporting over a hundred CCI projects across more than 30 African countries, with 50% of the 55,000 beneficiaries of resulting cultural activities and products being women.
AFD has been actively supporting the cultural and creative industries since 2018, investing over €150 million in 60+ projects and 100+ micro projects. These initiatives encompass a range of activities, including funding cultural infrastructure, vocational training, cultural entrepreneurship, and cultural policy development, with a primary focus on Africa, targeting youth and women as beneficiaries.
AFD leverages the role of culture in addressing several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as reducing multidimensional poverty, preserving culture, and ensuring equal access to cultural goods and services for women and men. Additionally, AFD promotes the professionalization of cultural stakeholders, entrepreneurship development, and sustainable tourism in the global CCIs sector.
