By Gabriel Ameh
The Director General of the National Gallery of Art (NGA), Ahmed Sodangi, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s creative economy through innovation, financial inclusion, and strategic partnerships, as he spoke at the launch of the AIDOS Creations Social Good Fund Africa (SGT) Innovation Hub and the National Creatives AI Media Toolkit in Abuja.
Sodangi described the initiative as a bold and timely step toward addressing one of the biggest gaps in Nigeria’s creative sector access to finance and structured support for young creatives.
Speaking on behalf of the National Gallery of Art, the NGA boss welcomed participants and partners, singling out Mr.Ayo Adeagbo SA to the president on Art culture Tourism and Creative Economy for his role in advancing policy-level collaboration that enables practical solutions within the creative industry.
According to Sodangi, the National Gallery of Art remains one of Nigeria’s foremost institutions for creativity, culture, and artistic preservation, and under the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, agencies under the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy are required to think beyond traditional frameworks.
“Creativity is one of Nigeria’s strongest assets, and the young people control this asset.
Our responsibility is to identify these creatives, support them, and provide the structure that turns their talent into economic value,” he said.
He explained that the partnership between the NGA and AIDOS Creations, which began from a simple conversation in 2024 at the National Gallery during the opening of the Art House, has now evolved into a strategic collaboration designed to create a “triple effect” for creatives training, infrastructure, and access to funding.
“For us at the National Gallery of Art, value addition is the panacea for economic development under the creative economy. But to achieve financial inclusion, we must understand the business side of creativity. This initiative provides that launching pad,” Sodangi stated.
He noted that while creatives are naturally driven by inspiration and design, global competitiveness requires access to finance and proper positioning as business entities a gap the Social Good Fund Africa Innovation Hub seeks to bridge in a simplified and accessible way.
Sodangi announced that the initiative will facilitate training for about 50,000 creatives, equipping them not only with artistic skills but also with the financial knowledge, infrastructure, and tools required to thrive in a modern creative ecosystem.
The event also featured the official launch of the National Creatives AI Media Toolkit, an initiative developed through the partnership between AIDOS Studios and the National Gallery of Art to integrate artificial intelligence into Nigeria’s creative and media processes.
In her opening remarks, Pamela Williams, Chief Executive Officer of AIDOS Creations, described the toolkit as more than a technological solution, but a system designed to support creativity, protect culture, and strengthen how Nigerian stories are told and valued.
She said the AI-powered toolkit will help creatives and media professionals communicate their work more clearly, preserve their unique voices, engage audiences effectively, and build sustainable careers.
“This initiative is about preservation, empowerment, and national positioning. By strengthening how creative work is communicated and distributed, we strengthen the creative economy itself,” Williams noted.
Both leaders emphasized that the collaboration represents a deliberate step toward positioning Nigeria as a global leader in AI-enabled creative infrastructure while ensuring that young creatives have the support systems needed to convert talent into economic opportunity.
Sodangi concluded by thanking stakeholders for supporting initiatives that advance culture, creativity, and national development, describing the launch as the beginning of a broader conversation on collaboration, scale, and the future of Nigeria’s creative and media industries.
