In late July Andy Pratt accepted an invitation from the British Council who are advising the Nigerian Government of Creative industries mapping to travel to Lagos and speak with local policy makers and statisticans about the challenges of creative industry policy and information gathering. Nigeria is the second largest economy on the African continent, and Lagos of one of the world’s largest cities, in recent years the growth of the film industry – based on very cheap video technology – has been a worldwide phenomena (known as Nollywood), the music industry continues to be a powerful part of the regional economy. Inspired by the UNCTAD report “Creative economy: a feasible development option” Nigeria is trying to harness the power of its creative economy for both economic growth and to reinforce national identity.
