The Nigerian Government has launched a digital data platform designed to attract investment into Nigeria’s tourism and creative industries, as part of its ambition to generate $100bn in gross domestic product contribution and create over three million jobs from the sectors by 2030.
The Nigerian Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, disclosed this in Abuja during the official launch of the D30 Platform, also known as Destination 2030.
Musawa said the initiative was designed to address longstanding gaps in reliable and accessible data on Nigeria’s creative and tourism industries, which she identified as a major constraint to unlocking their economic potential.
READ ALSO: Kogi Explores AI, Digital Technology to Transform Tourism
She said the platform would provide investors, government institutions, businesses and entrepreneurs with information to identify opportunities, assess infrastructure gaps and make informed decisions about investment.
The Minister said “Today, we are not simply unveiling a technology platform. We are taking a deliberate step towards changing how Nigeria understands, measures and harnesses the economic value of its cultural and creative assets”.
According to her, Nigeria’s music, film, fashion, visual arts, literature, cultural heritage and tourism attractions possess enormous potential to generate revenue, support livelihoods and contribute to national development.
“We have not always had the reliable, accessible and comprehensive data required to understand the true scale of our opportunities,” she noted.
Musawa explained that the D30 platform was developed to consolidate sectoral data, research, mapping and economic intelligence to support evidence-based policymaking and private-sector investment.
She illustrated its potential by citing investors seeking to establish film production facilities, state governments planning tourism destinations and entrepreneurs looking to expand their creative businesses.
“These are the kinds of decisions we want D30 to support. We want to move from fragmented information to coordinated intelligence, from untapped potential to visible opportunities, and from economic possibilities to actual investments and sustainable jobs,” she emphasised.
The Minister said the platform aligned with the economic diversification objectives of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that the ministry’s roadmap targeted over three million jobs and a $100bn contribution to the nation’s GDP by 2030.
She, however, stressed that achieving the targets would require coordinated action, strategic investments, stronger institutions, improved infrastructure and an enabling environment for businesses.
“D30 is not intended to be another government database that simply accumulates information. Its purpose is to support decisions. Decisions that help businesses expand. Decisions that guide investors towards viable opportunities. Decisions that enable government to deploy resources more effectively,” Musawa said.
Musawa also highlighted the relationship between tourism and the creative economy, noting that Nigerian music, films, festivals and cultural heritage could stimulate interest in the country as a destination and generate demand for hospitality businesses and local industries.
She called on ministries, departments and agencies, state governments, industry associations, private-sector operators and research institutions to contribute to the initiative.
Furthermore, she explained that the government intended to establish a collaborative framework that would protect the integrity and confidentiality of contributed information while making trusted, published intelligence accessible to stakeholders.
“The true value of D30 will be measured by the opportunities it reveals, the investment it helps unlock, the enterprises it supports, and the jobs it helps create,” She disclosed.
The Minister commended Cavista, the ministry’s technology development partner, for providing the technical expertise required to develop the platform, while urging stakeholders to focus on translating the information into practical economic outcomes.
READ ALAO: Bebuzee Launches Digital Platform for African Youths, Creatives
Important Milestone
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abdulkarim Ibrahim said the platform represented an important milestone in efforts to harness the economic potential of Nigeria’s cultural and creative assets.
Mr Ibrahim said the country’s music and film industries, fashion, visual arts and tourism destinations could attract investment and create employment if supported by reliable information and appropriate infrastructure.
He said the platform would improve access to economic intelligence and help government institutions, investors and businesses make better decisions.
“The D30 Platform is designed to provide a centralised source of reliable information and economic intelligence on Nigeria’s creative and tourism sectors,”he said.
Mr Ibrahim noted that achieving the ministry’s employment and GDP targets would require more than policies and government programmes.
Also, he said its effectiveness should be measured by its contribution to investment, enterprise development and job creation rather than the volume of information it contained.
“It will require the right infrastructure, credible information, institutional partnerships and an enabling environment for investment. D30 is intended to contribute to this foundation. The true measure of D30’s success will not be how much information it contains, but how effectively that information helps attract investment, empower businesses, create jobs and contribute to national development,” Ibrahim revealed.
The Permanent Secretary called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, development partners and private-sector stakeholders to ensure that the platform remained a reliable national resource.
Technical Expertise
Also speaking at the launch, the Executive Director and Vice President, Government and External Affairs, Cavista Holdings, Olumide Olayomi, said the company had committed private funding and technical expertise to develop the platform through its subsidiary, Cavista Technologies, in partnership with the ministry.
Olayomi said the initiative would help stakeholders identify investment opportunities, assess infrastructure gaps and make better-informed decisions about the development of the creative and tourism industries.
“D30 brings together information on creative and cultural industries, tourism infrastructure, sector interventions, tourism sites, attractions and creative professionals,” he said.
Olayomi added that the platform’s impact would depend on how effectively stakeholders used its information to attract investments, expand enterprises and generate employment.
He highlighted Cavista Holdings’ investment in the hospitality sector through Glocient Hospitality, which owns and operates Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort and Conference Centre in Ekiti State.
He said the company’s experience in the industry had reinforced the importance of infrastructure, accessibility, investment, skills and effective planning in developing successful tourism destinations.
The Cavista executive commended the ministry and the National Bureau of Statistics, alongside other participating government institutions, for their roles in the initiative.
He said the launch marked the beginning of efforts to translate the information provided by the platform into investments and measurable economic benefits.
“Our hope is that this platform will help Nigeria see its tourism and creative assets more clearly, identify opportunities more precisely and mobilise investment more effectively,” Olayomi stated.
The Statistician-General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Adeyemi Adeniran, represented by his Technical Assistant, Moses Waniko, pledged the Bureau’s collaboration with the Ministry to strengthen data collection, harmonise methodologies and ensure compliance with national and international statistical standards.
He said that the success of the platform will depend on the quality, consistency, reliability and comparability of its data, reaffirming NBS’s commitment to producing reliable official statistics to support government, private-sector operators, development partners and researchers.
Special Adviser to the President on Partnerships and Innovation, Imran Garba Duba, thanked all contributors to the successful launch of D30, particularly the Cavista team for their selfless service to the country.
He described the launch as just the beginning, saying:
“D30 will open doors for Nigeria in ways we cannot fathom. Nigeria has so much to show and so much data and we need to work together.” He emphasised.
