D'banj named brand ambassador for Nigerian bank

The move, according to the Abubakar Bello-led bank, is in line with its goal of creating awareness for its newly launched products. It will see D'banj lead a sensitisation campaign for NEXIM’s Small and Medium Enterprise Export Facility, as well as for the Women and Youth Export Facility (WAYEF), which was launched in April. 

“Together, we can make an impactful difference in the industrial lives of our women and young creatives nationwide and beyond,” D'banj said. 

Even before his announcement as NEXIM brand ambassador, the ‘Oliver Twist’ singer had lauded the WAYEF initiative. At WAYEF’s launch, presenting a goodwill message on behalf of Nigerian entertainers in Kaduna, the musician described the platform as “another opportunity to fully throw some weight behind the creative industry, through capacity training or access to funds.”

At the launch, D'banj, an ardent advocate for creative practitioners, also called for the use of intellectual property as collateral for obtaining bank loans.

“Our creative industry is a bigger and better export than the oil industry. So there is the need for more access to stress-free funds for those in the creative industry, using their intellectual property as collateral. When you look around the world, one of our biggest exports is the creative sector, thanks to our music, movies and photos,” he said.

In March, D'banj’s Creative, Reality, Entertainment, Arts and Music (CREAM) platform partnered with the Heritage Bank to reward five emerging Nigerian creatives with ₦1m (about $2 400) in the first of a number of monthly draws. The final draw, scheduled for 27 August, also commemorates five years of CREAM’s existence in Nigeria.