Despite Nigeria’s outsized global cultural influence, less than 20% of its creative professionals report international markets as their primary source of income, The State of Nigeria’s Creative Economy 2026 has revealed. This figure, the report says, resurfaces critically in its analysis of export barriers.
The report, produced by the Nigerian Entertainment Conference in partnership with Frontyard Group, sets that paradox in sharp relief.
Nigerian music and film dominate global platforms, from cinemas to streaming outlets. Nollywood is currently the fifth-largest movie and entertainment industry in the world, and over 70% of watch time for content produced by channels comes from outside the country. Yet most Nigerian creators still depend on local and regional clients to earn a living.
For Tomiwo Ojo, Head of Content at ID Africa, that paradox is the precise gap the report sets out to close.“We have never had a problem telling the world a great story about its culture. What we’ve lacked is honest evidence about the machinery beneath it. This report is that evidence.”
The report ties the paradox directly to its export findings: “the world is consuming Nigerian creativity, but the payment and foreign-exchange infrastructure to convert that consumption into creator income does not yet exist.”
The gap between cultural reach and economic capture, it argues, is the defining challenge of the sector’s next decade.
The full report is available for download at nec.ng
