The United Kingdom and Nigeria have strengthened efforts to expand creative-sector partnerships, promote international collaboration and unlock new commercial opportunities ahead of the 2028 UK-Nigeria Season of Culture
The renewed push followed a series of engagements in Lagos involving 17 UK creative professionals and Nigerian industry leaders, policymakers, businesses and cultural institutions, aimed at building partnerships, facilitating access to new markets and strengthening the commercial potential of both countries’ creative industries.
The UK Creative Sector Delegation, which comprised professionals from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, engaged Nigerian counterparts across film, television, music, fashion, design, literature, theatre and visual arts.
The engagements, held around the Africa International Film Festival, Creative Africa Nexus Weekend, Lagos Fringe and Art X Lagos, featured targeted meetings, roundtable discussions and networking activities designed to facilitate knowledge exchange and establish professional relationships.
A major focus was how to address structural challenges limiting the growth of creative businesses, particularly skills development, intellectual property protection, rights management, access to finance, production capacity, commissioning, distribution and access to local and international audiences
British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter, said the UK was committed to supporting Nigeria’s creative industries through access to expertise, networks, finance and international markets.
Baxter said the engagements were designed to create the conditions for meaningful collaboration, adding that their success would ultimately depend on sustained relationships, the removal of barriers and opportunities that deliver lasting benefits for businesses and professionals in both countries.
He described Nigeria’s creative industries as a combination of exceptional talent, entrepreneurial energy and global influence, stressing the importance of a practical and long-term partnership.
The initiative also advances the UK-Nigeria Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership Creative Industries Technical Working Group, established in March 2025 to identify commercial opportunities, address regulatory and non-tariff barriers and promote cooperation across film and television, music, design and fashion, architecture, advertising and gaming
Country Director of the British Council in Nigeria, Donna McGowan, said the delegation had created opportunities for creative practitioners and institutions in both countries to exchange ideas, develop professional skills and establish trusted cross-border relationships
McGowan said the British Council was particularly interested in ensuring that cultural exchange translated into lasting value through wider access to international networks and inclusive partnerships.
She added that the relationships and insights generated by the programme would contribute to shaping an ambitious UK-Nigeria Season of Culture in 2028.
Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Obi Asika, said Nigeria’s creative talent and intellectual property held enormous commercial potential that remained largely untapped.
Asika said the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership and the forthcoming Season of Culture offered opportunities to connect Nigerian creativity with wider audiences and international markets
He stressed that the success of the initiative should be measured by tangible outcomes beyond 2028, including international tours, publishing deals, television productions, fashion partnerships and new businesses emerging from the collaborations.
According to him, the objective is to develop sustainable commercial projects that can be traced to relationships established through the cultural partnership.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Black British Book Festival and member of the UK delegation, Selina Brown, described her experience in Lagos as inspiring, citing the city’s creative energy and the opportunities for professional exchange.
Brown said her engagements with emerging and established artists, writers, publishers and industry leaders had reinforced the potential for deeper UK-Nigeria cooperation.
She called for a genuinely reciprocal partnership in which both countries shared knowledge, expertise and opportunities rather than treating cultural exchange as a one-way transfer of knowledge.
Following the engagements, UK and Nigerian partners are expected to pursue priority introductions, policy discussions and partnership opportunities identified during the visit.
The programme forms part of broader efforts by both countries to position creativity as a driver of cultural connections, innovation, employment, exports and shared prosperity, with the 2028 Season of Culture expected to provide a platform for co-creation, audience development, professional exchanges and commercially viable collaborations.
