Expo targets over 100,000 new jobs in creative industry, others

By Anthony Otaru, Abuja

 Over 100,000 new jobs are expected to be created from the forthcoming EnjoyNigeria expo especially in the creative, entertainment, cultural industries.

 
The expo slated for mid-November this year is also seeking to create several jobs from the travel and trade sectors of the economy between this year and 2023.

The expo is themed, ’Experience creativity, discover wealth, an integrated exposition of Nigeria’’.Tagged “EnjoyNigeria Expo”, the initiative is a Public Private Partnership [PPP] project in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, as well as the Ministry of Information and Culture as lead establishment, working in concert with welcome 2Nigeria project, a private sector facilitator.

x

In a statement by the EnjoyNigeria expo, Mohmood Tunde Hassan assured that the project will equally empower women and youths with entrepreneurial skills to facilitate innovations as well as connect them to the bigger markets for sustain growth of their businesses whilst showcasing and promoting their products and services.
    
He said that the project further envisions making available a national database for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises [MSMEs] in rural areas with the aim of connecting them to big in-country markets in Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.
  
He noted: “The expo seeks to deepen the contributions of the creative entertainment, cultural and travel trade industries to the diversification of the Nigerian economy, already, an inter-ministerial steering committee has been set up, drawing membership from relevant Ministries, Department and Agencies [MDAs] and active non-governmental bodies and associations operating in the sectors’’.

x

He further explained that the project is anchored on five major strands, woven around critical creative visual and performing arts contents including music, film, photography, painting, fashion, craft, stage drama and comedy.

He remarked, ‘’These are conceptualized as distinct stand-alone brands of sounds of Nigeria, images of Nigeria, tastes of Nigeria, colours of Nigeria and experience of Nigeria’’.
   
Also, the Chair for EnjoyNigeria expo planning committee, and Director of Investment Department of FMITI, Mrs Kemi Arodudu expressed hope that the initiative will scale up the value chain delivery of the creative, entertainment, travel trade and cultural industries of the Nigerian economy.