Sterling Bank Limited brought together key public and private sector actors in Lagos to catalyze investment and accelerate growth in Nigeria’s tourism and creative industries. The convening included senior government officials, industry regulators, institutional investors, hospitality operators, traditional leaders, and creative professionals. The aim was to define practical steps for unlocking sustainable investment, strengthening value chains, and positioning tourism as a core driver of economic diversification and employment creation.
During the engagement, Sterling Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, emphasized the untapped potential of the tourism and creative sectors. He framed both as substantial opportunities for job creation, foreign exchange earnings, and inclusive economic growth. According to him, realizing this potential depends on intentional collaboration across policymakers, financiers, operators, and cultural institutions. He highlighted the need for aligned financing mechanisms, clear regulatory frameworks, infrastructure development, and concerted talent development to support durable sector expansion.
A central objective of the gathering was to align policy direction with investor expectations and practical financing structures that respond to the operational realities of tourism enterprises and creative businesses. Stakeholders discussed ways to translate rising global interest in Nigerian culture, entertainment, and destinations into structured, year-round economic value. This included boosting capital formation and improving enterprise support systems to strengthen the tourism and creative economy value chain.
The Honourable Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and the Creative Economy, Mrs. Hannatu Musa Musawa, set out the Federal Government’s strategic priorities for the sector. She reaffirmed government commitment to partnership-driven growth and underscored the importance of innovative financing structures. Mrs. Musawa pointed to strengthened value chains and structured public-private collaboration as essential to unlocking investment into tourism assets and creative enterprises. She also stressed the strategic role of financial institutions in mobilising capital and enabling scalable industry development.
Also addressing the attendees, the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tourism, Arts, and the Creative Economy, Mrs. Moriam Ajaga, reiterated the administration’s focus on policy coherence and improved access to finance under the Renewed Hope Agenda. She highlighted the need for sustained institutional dialogue to ensure that policy reforms evolve into measurable investment outcomes and tangible opportunities for sector participants.
From a practical standpoint, the forum served as a platform to advocate for financing instruments tailored to tourism and creative enterprises’ unique revenue cycles and investment timelines. Sterling Bank executives noted that bespoke financial solutions, crafted with an understanding of market realities, would accelerate enterprise growth and formalise structures within the industry.
Traditional leadership also contributed to the discussion. The Oniru of Iru Land, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, stressed the importance of responsible cultural asset stewardship. He called for deeper collaboration between custodians of heritage, government entities, and private investors to preserve and responsibly commercialize historical and cultural assets. This, he argued, was essential to ensuring sustainable and long-term tourism value.
Overall, the engagement reinforced a shared view among stakeholders that coordinated action, strategic financing, consistent policy frameworks, and effective public-private partnerships are vital to unlocking Nigeria’s tourism and creative economy potential. Sterling Bank affirmed its commitment to playing a central role in these efforts by aligning financial resources and sector expertise to support sustainable growth.
