Project-first grants for high-potential creative projects in Film, Fashion, and Music. Keeping Nigeria's best work on Nigerian soil.
In 2024, the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub supported the “State of the Creative Innovation Ecosystem in Nigeria”, a comprehensive study drawing on over 1,700 survey responses, 90+ stakeholder interviews, and fieldwork across seven states. It found that Nigeria’s creative economy employs 4.2 million people and contributes approximately US$3 billion to GDP annually, yet over 80% of practitioners are self-taught, fewer than 10% access formal financing, and high-value technical work is routinely outsourced abroad.
The Creative Fund is a direct response to what the research found. Funded by the FCDO and administered through the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, it provides flexible, project-first grants to high-potential creative projects in film, fashion, and music, subsidising the critical technical talent, digital tools, and resources that keep Nigeria’s best creative work at home.
We go deep in three sectors where Nigeria is already a world-class creative force, and where the technical gap is most consequential.
Post-production, colour grading, editing, sound design, animation, the technical pipeline from shoot to screen.
Digital patternmaking, technical design, production engineering, sustainable fabric sourcing, African aesthetics, global craft standards.
Sound engineering, mastering, mixing, production, digital distribution, the infrastructure behind every global hit made in Nigeria.
We fund what your project needs to remove its technical bottleneck and complete high-quality work locally.
VFX artists, sound engineers, post-production editors, digital fashion designers, colourists, the critical technical role your project needs.
Licences, production materials, digital asset management, DRM solutions, audience analytics, and AI-driven content intelligence tools.
Exhibitions and sessions that connect project owners with technical talent and build ecosystem capacity.
Costs directly associated with mandatory give-back activities carried out by embedded mid-career creatives.
Project owners invest alongside the Fund through in-kind contributions, tangible, non-cash support provided directly to the mid-career creatives embedded in your project. This ensures ownership, accountability, and long-term sustainability.
Grant size is flexible and based on the scope, scale, and ambition of your project. The Fund operates across three tracks.
For early-stage or smaller productions with a clear, specific technical gap. Ideal for emerging studios and independent creators building their first high-quality pipeline.
For more developed projects with established operations, a proven track record, and the capacity to deliver larger-scale placements and give-back activities.
For collaborative productions or sector partnerships involving multiple creative organisations working toward a shared output with broader ecosystem impact.
You must meet all of the following to be considered for funding.
Your project is based in Nigeria and falls within film, fashion, or music.
You have a specific, identifiable technical production gap, a role or resource currently being outsourced abroad or that cannot be done in-house.
Your organisation is a registered company, studio, production house, fashion enterprise, music label, or creative entity with a verifiable business presence in Nigeria.
You can attach 2 to 5 mid-career creatives (people who already have skills, not entry-level) to your project for structured, hands-on experience.
You commit to at least one give-back activity during the programme period, carried out by the embedded mid-career creatives.
Your project is at a stage where it can actively commence within the programme period (April 2026 to January 2027).
You agree to comply with UK-Nigeria Tech Hub brand and communications standards encoded in the grant agreement.
You agree to submit monthly progress reports and financial records (receipts and invoices) to Tech4Dev.
All funded projects must attach 2 to 5 mid-career creatives for structured, hands-on experience. These are people with skills and experience, not entry-level or fresh graduates.
| Who qualifies | Mid-career creatives with 2+ years' relevant experience already working in the sector |
| How many | Minimum 2, maximum 5 per funded project |
| Who sources them | You, the project owner |
| What you provide | Meaningful mentorship, structured learning environment, and in-kind support |
| What Tech4Dev needs | CVs and basic profile information of all selected creatives |
A mandatory give-back system is central to the Creative Fund's theory of change. Every funded project must enable at least one give-back activity during the programme period.
It is the mid-career creatives (mentees) embedded in the funded project who carry out the give-back, not the organisation itself. Using skills and resources from the funded project, mentees offer pro bono support to small businesses or startups in the creative ecosystem.
All give-back plans are subject to review and approval by the Steering Committee before implementation.
Hosting a verifiable masterclass or workshop session for other creatives in the sector.
Offering hands-on support to small businesses or creative startups, designing banners, editing footage, creating visuals.
Leading open, accessible sessions that build skills across the wider creative ecosystem.
Creating and publishing case studies, guides, or documented learnings that benefit the industry at large.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Download the Technical Proposal, complete it in full, and resubmit. Deadline: July 30, 2026.
Get the Technical Proposal template using the button on this page.
Your project overview, technical gap, mid-career placement plan, give-back commitment, and budget.
Submit your completed PDF using the submission button.
You will receive acknowledgement within 3 working days. Shortlisted applicants are contacted for a one-on-one virtual review meeting.
Selected grantees sign an MoU and are onboarded before implementation begins. Final selection is at the discretion of the review committee.
The application window is open for 3 months on a rolling basis. Do not wait for the deadline, early applications are encouraged.
Not sure if your project qualifies? Join a free virtual session where the Tech4Dev team walks you through the fund live.
It is an open rolling call. The application window opens April 22nd, 2026, and remains open for 3 months until July 30th, 2026.
Yes, as long as your project still has a specific unfilled technical need the Fund can address and there is enough time remaining to deliver against agreed outcomes within the programme period.
One application per organisation per programme period. If you have multiple projects, select the strongest fit and apply with that one.
Yes. CVs for all mid-career creatives and technical talent must be submitted as part of your application. Applications without these will not be considered.
Yes. The Fund is open to projects across all of Nigeria. Applications from outside major cities are welcome and may receive additional consideration under our geographic inclusion commitment.
Disbursements are milestone-linked. If a grantee fails to meet agreed milestones, further payments may be paused. Tech4Dev reserves the right to reallocate funds to replacement projects.
For enquiries about the Creative Fund, contact the strategic programmes team at Tech4Dev. We aim to respond within 2 working days.
| strategicprograms@tech4dev.com | |
| Website | www.tech4dev.com |
| Social Media | |
| Implementing Partner | Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4Dev) |
| Administered Through | UK-Nigeria Tech Hub |
