By Our Reporter
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L-R: Adora Umeoji, MD, Zenith Bank; Tunde Folawiyo, Chairman, Coronation Merchant Bank; Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Access Holdings; Jean-Noël Barrot, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs; Jean Haas, Secretary General, FNBC, and Innocent Ike, GMD/CEO, Access Holdings, at the Création Africa 2025 ministerial luncheon, Lagos… recently.
Held from October 16 to 18, 2025, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, the forum drew over 3,000 creatives, entrepreneurs, and innovators from across Africa. The event explored the intersection of technology and creativity under the theme, “Building Africa’s Creative Economy.”
Organised by the French Embassy in Nigeria under President Emmanuel Macron’s Maison des Mondes Africains initiative, Création Africa 2025 was supported by the France–Nigeria Business Council (FNBC) and co-sponsored by Access Holdings Plc.
The event was opened by France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Joël Barrot, who reaffirmed France’s commitment to supporting Africa’s creative industries.
During the forum, the FNBC held its 9th Council Meeting, chaired by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, with Nigerian and French business leaders in attendance. Discussions centred on deepening investment cooperation, financing creative industry infrastructure, and fostering collaboration in agribusiness, energy, and technology.
At a ministerial luncheon hosted at Alliance Française, Barrot highlighted France’s planned €400 million Omi Eko Project, aimed at improving Lagos’ urban infrastructure and reducing CO₂ emissions by 31,000 tonnes annually.
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| L-R: Jean Haas, Secretary General, FNBC; Jean-Noël Barrot, French Minister; Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy; and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Access Holdings, during the Création Africa Forum session, “From Idea to Business”, Lagos… recently. |
Aig-Imoukhuede commended the French government’s partnership and emphasised the FNBC’s mission to connect commerce and creativity between both nations. He urged private sector players to drive innovation and youth empowerment across Africa’s growth sectors.
Later, Aig-Imoukhuede featured in a session titled “From Idea to Business: How to Put Creativity at the Heart of the Game”, where he underscored the link between creativity and entrepreneurship.
“Africa is a cultural superpower, and our responsibility is to build systems that allow this creative energy to transform economies,” he said. “Every entrepreneur must be brave enough to test, refine, and deliver ideas that change lives.”
Through its support of Création Africa 2025 and initiatives such as the Access Creative Hub and its partnership with Tate Modern (London), Access Holdings continues to champion creativity, innovation, and youth development across Africa.
“Africa’s prosperity will be defined as much by our creative spirit as by our economic ambition,” Aig-Imoukhuede added.