Nigeria’s creative industry — especially the tech, music, film and fashion sectors — is an effective channel for cultural export. The industry has also experienced exponential growth in the last five years and is projected to contribute up to $1 billion to Nigeria’s GDP by the year 2020. However, many businesses with great potential do not get a chance to grow because of poor or inexistent funding.

Access Bank Creative Sector Loan, in collaboration with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is offering businesses in the creative industry opportunities for large-scale funding. The facility is an offshoot of the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), which is aimed at boosting job creation in Nigeria and increasing the global impact of the country’s creatives.

The loans will be serviced at a maximum interest rate of 9% per annum and will be available to businesses in Film Distribution, Music Production, Information Technology, and Fashion. All the loans have a maximum repayment plan that spans up to ten years except the Software Engineering Student loan which can be repaid within three years.

A software engineering student can get a loan of up to N3 million, a movie production business can get a loan of up to N30 million, and a loan of up to N500m is available to Film Distribution businesses. Similarly, Fashion and Information Technology businesses can receive a loan to cover the full cost of rental and service fees, while the cost of training, equipment, and rent can be covered for Music Production businesses.

It is time to achieve the business goals that seemed hitherto impossible. Interested participants who wish to access the loans are expected to prepare a business plan or a comprehensive statement of how much the business needs and submit to Access Bank for approval. For more details on the loan visit accessbankplc.com. To also stay updated on other initiatives and products from the bank, connect with Access Bank on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.