Stakeholders Champion IP-backed Financing Framework For Digital, Creative Sectors

Public and private sector stakeholders in Nigeria are accelerating efforts to build a framework that would allow businesses in the country’s digital and creative economy to use intellectual property (IP) assets as collateral for securing financing; a move designed to broaden capital access for innovators, startups, and creative enterprises.

The initiative took center stage at a stakeholder engagement session held in Abuja, convened by TNP (The New Practice), an Andersen collaborating firm and lead consultant for developing Nigeria’s Intellectual Property Securitisation Framework, in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

The engagement is a component of the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme, which the Bank of Industry (BOI) implements on behalf of the Federal Government, backed by the African Development Bank Group, Agence Française de Développement, and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

Attendees included representatives from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s National Collateral Registry, the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the Trademarks Registry, the Patents and Designs Registry, WIPO, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, financial institutions, technology entrepreneurs, innovators, creators, and legal practitioners.

Discussions centered on the legal, regulatory, operational, and financing prerequisites for establishing a functional IP securitisation framework in Nigeria.

The stakeholders explored strategies for recognising, valuing, and leveraging intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, and patents, as bankable assets capable of unlocking financing for businesses within Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital and creative sectors.

A persistent concern raised during the session was the scant recognition of intellectual property as an acceptable financing instrument, despite its increasingly significant contribution to enterprise value in technology-driven and creative businesses.

Participants noted that although IP frequently ranks among the most valuable assets held by startups and creative enterprises, prevailing financing structures seldom acknowledge such assets as viable collateral, thereby restricting access to credit and investment.

Addressing the gathering, Samuel Esuga, Partner at TNP, emphasised that unlocking financing through intellectual property would necessitate robust valuation standards and stronger enforcement mechanisms.

“The creative sector’s economic potential demands tailored valuation and enforcement mechanisms to treat IP as real assets for financing,” he stated. “Current gaps in IP collateral recognition and enforcement pose a barrier to financing start-ups using their intangible assets.”

Stakeholders also pinpointed substantial gaps within Nigeria’s intellectual property and secured transactions ecosystem that must be bridged before an effective IP-backed financing market can take shape.

Among the priorities flagged was the development of standardised valuation methodologies to enhance transparency, enable accurate pricing of IP-backed financial transactions, and bolster investor and lender confidence in the asset class.

Also addressing participants, Co-chair of the iDICE Technical Committee, Dr. Magnus Abeng explained that the programme was designed as a strategic intervention to stimulate growth in Nigeria’s digital and creative industries through improved access to finance, skills development, and policy reforms.

He observed that the proposed Intellectual Property Securitisation Framework aims to tackle one of the sector’s most formidable constraints by creating a mechanism through which innovators, startups, and creative enterprises can leverage their intellectual property assets to secure financing.

“The proposed IP Securitisation Framework is designed to address one of the sector’s most pressing challenges, access to capital, by creating a pathway through which start-ups, innovators, and creative enterprises can leverage intellectual property assets to secure financing,” Abeng said.

According to the project team, the framework is expected to establish the legal, regulatory, and institutional structures required to transform intellectual property from a protected legal right into a recognised financial asset capable of supporting lending, investment, and capital market transactions.

The meeting concluded with stakeholders pledging their commitment to advancing a comprehensive Intellectual Property Securitisation Framework that aligns with international best practices while reflecting the realities of Nigeria’s digital and creative economy.

They expressed confidence that the framework would enhance access to finance, draw greater investment into innovation-driven enterprises, and accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s digital and creative industries.