Nigeria’s creative exporters are being held back not by the quality of their work but by the “poor plumbing” of international commerce, according to The State of Nigeria’s Creative Economy 2026, produced in partnership with Frontyard Group, an innovation and investment engine powering Africa’s creative frontier.
The report, which surveyed 377 Nigerian creative professionals across different tiers and sectors, found that payment processing and foreign-exchange barriers are the single biggest export hurdle, cited by 29.2% of respondents, narrowly ahead of high shipping and logistics costs at 28.4%.
Together, the two financial and logistical barriers account for 57.6% of all export obstacles named. “Nigeria’s creative exports are not blocked by a quality gap,” the report reads in part. “They are blocked by a payment gap.”
This finding lands against a backdrop of soaring global demand for Nigerian content. Afrobeats has become Nigeria’s leading export after oil, reaching music lovers in over 180 countries. Streaming giant Spotify has also revealed that royalties paid to Nigerian artists more than doubled between 2023 and 2024, reaching over ₦58 billion.
Yet the data suggests individual creators struggle to capture that value because they cannot easily receive international payments. The report recommends that financial institutions, the Central Bank, and fintech partners provide a dedicated remittance and licensing payment corridor for creative exports to ease this burden.
Download the full report on nec.ng
