The Lagos State Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched a two-day Fashion, Leather and Creative Enterprise Spotlight aimed at connecting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the creative sector to finance, markets and investment opportunities.
The event, which opened on Friday at the Senator Oluremi Tinubu Industrial Leather Hub in Lagos, brought together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, development partners and financial institutions under the theme, “Crafting Prosperity: Connecting African Creativity to Markets, Capital and Growth.”
Speaking on behalf of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, the commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, said the initiative was designed to help creative entrepreneurs move beyond production into sustainable businesses capable of competing in regional and global markets.
“Lagos has always been a city of makers,” Ajigbotafe said. “Walk through our markets and workshops and you will find hands that turn leather into livelihood, fabric into fortune and creativity into commerce.”
He noted that while Nigeria’s creative economy employs more than four million people, many entrepreneurs remain excluded from markets, capital and business networks needed to scale their enterprises.
