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By Sunday Ani
Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa has launched the Chocolate City Group’s $1 million founders fund targeting Nigeria’s creative startups.
The launch, which happened before 500 creative industry stakeholders, international partners and media representatives, was part of the company’s 20th anniversary.
The fund will provide equity investment and operational mentorship to early-stage companies across music, film and creative technology. The initiative comes as Nigeria’s creative economy is projected to reach $15 billion in value by 2025, yet entrepreneurs continue to struggle accessing traditional financing. Co-founders Audu Maikori and Paul Okeugo said they structured the fund to address the gaps they experienced while building Chocolate City into an independent entertainment company.
“The reality on ground is that financial institutions struggle to understand creative businesses. Investors want immediate returns, so young entrepreneurs with genuine potential get stuck. “To solve this, we’re providing capital from people who’ve built sustainable creative businesses in this market.
The fund targets companies that combine creative vision with business discipline,” Maikori said.
Okeugo emphasised the operational support model, saying, “Capital alone doesn’t build successful companies. We’re offering hands-on mentorship in rights management, contract negotiation and sustainable business practices. These are the structures that allowed us to remain independent while competing globally.”
In her remarks, Musawa welcomed the initiative, saying, “Private sector investment is critical for creative economy development. Nigeria’s creative industries can contribute significantly to economic diversification and youth employment, but entrepreneurs need partners who understand both the creative and business dimensions. This fund demonstrates the leadership we need from successful Nigerian companies.”
Co-Creation Hub (CCHub), Africa’s leading creative ecosystem enabler, will serve as the programme and implementation partner for the fund, managing applications, due diligence and ongoing portfolio support.
Managing Director of CCHub, Ojoma Ochai, outlined the partnership approach, saying, “We understand what creative entrepreneurs need to scale sustainably. This partnership combines Chocolate City’s industry knowledge with our startup development infrastructure to create comprehensive support for creative entrepreneurs.”
Managing Partner of Argentil Capital Management Limited, Gbenga Hassan, described the investment thesis. He said: “Nigeria’s creative economy shows strong fundamentals with 63 percent annual growth in music streaming revenue and increasing global market penetration. Nollywood alone produces over 2,500 films annually, making it the world’s second-largest film industry by volume, yet struggles to access structured financing. The founders fund addresses this real market inefficiency where viable businesses in both music and film cannot access appropriate financing.”
Chocolate City has developed artists like M.I. Abaga, Ice Prince, CKay, Blaqbonez and Young Jonn, while maintaining operational independence and securing strategic partnerships with Warner Music.
