The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Bank of Industry (BoI) have signed a US$30 million financing facility aimed at expanding access to credit for Nigeria’s cultural and creative industries, including film and audiovisual production. The agreement, signed in Abuja on 27 October 2026, combines lending with technical assistance intended to strengthen the bank’s ability to finance creative businesses.
BoI Managing Director Olasupo Olusi and AFD Group Chief Executive Christophe Lecourtier signed the agreement, which will see BoI channel financing to eligible enterprises across fashion, design, textiles, music, film and audiovisual production, video games and visual arts. Reports say at least 90% of the facility is earmarked for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Women-led and youth-led businesses, as well as first-time borrowers, are among the priority groups.
AFD describes the agreement as its first credit line dedicated specifically to cultural and creative industries anywhere in the world. The initiative targets a sector that Nigerian industry stakeholders have long identified as constrained by limited access to affordable finance, particularly for businesses whose revenue depends on project-based production, intellectual property and uncertain distribution returns.
Olusi said the creative sector represented “one of the biggest growth opportunities for the Nigerian economy” because of its capacity to absorb young people and create jobs. He added that the facility was intended to address the funding gap by providing a substantial amount of financing at an affordable cost, according to
The agreement also includes a €500,000 technical assistance programme designed to improve BoI’s capacity to evaluate and finance creative businesses. The programme targets training for at least 70% of relevant bank staff and the development of financial products tailored to the sector’s needs.
This component may prove particularly important for film and audiovisual companies, whose financing requirements can differ from those of conventional businesses. Production budgets, distribution agreements, intellectual property rights and project-specific cash flows all influence the assessment of risk and repayment capacity. Building specialist lending expertise could help the bank assess these factors more effectively.
Lecourtier pointed to the growing international audience for Nigerian cultural exports, noting that more people in France were listening to Nigerian music and watching Nigerian films. The agreement builds on an existing AFD–BoI relationship that includes a climate-focused credit line worth more than €100 million under the Transforming Financial Systems for Climate programme.
The facility aligns with Nigeria’s Destination 2030 ambition for the creative economy. AFD and industry reports estimate that the sector contributes approximately 5% of national GDP and supports more than 4.2 million livelihoods.
However, the agreement does not yet establish how much individual businesses can borrow, the applicable interest rates, repayment periods or the application process. Those details will determine whether independent producers and smaller audiovisual companies can access the financing in practice. Until BoI publishes the lending conditions and eligibility requirements, the US$30 million commitment represents a new financing channel rather than evidence that funds have already reached production businesses.
