Enterprise Creative, the leading development agency for the creative industries in Nigeria, has been selected to partner with UK Trade and Investment and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the new UK Nigeria 100 Project.

The UK Nigeria 100 Project is about partnering 100 British small businesses with 100 Nigerian small businesses in the diverse and dynamic creative industries, comprising: TV, Video & Film; Music; Design; Digital, Interactive & Multimedia; Event Management; Photography; Advertising, Marketing & PR; Broadcast & Print Media; Performing Arts; Fashion; Publishing & Literature; Visual Arts and Cultural Heritage.

The UK Nigeria 100 initiative will be operated from four city hubs – Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and London. Enterprise Creative’s new co-working space.

The UK Nigeria 100 initiative will use an online networking platform where registered businesses will be able to interact and explore business opportunities through webinars, social meet-ups and exhibitions in the four city hubs.

“Enterprise Creative is focused on empowering and expanding opportunities for creative and digital entrepreneurs in Nigeria and as Partners of the UK Nigeria 100 Initiative, we will be able to further that mission in a very exciting and impactful way,” says Enterprise Creative CEO, Nkiru Asika.

The UK and Nigeria have a target of expanding bilateral trade to $8 billion by the end of 2014, with UK Nigeria 100 focusing on SMEs. Through the UK Nigeria 100 project,Enterprise Creative will be working with Lagos-based SMEs in the creative industries that are interested in expanding their products and services to the UK, and want support finding out how to do so. For example through the platform, Nigerian fashion houses can express interest to UK retailers interested in international brands, or UK based software developers can develop online payment applications for Nigerian businesses.

Nigeria is already an emerging market for businesses opportunities and has seen globalcreative companies such as Disney, Endemol, Bloomberg, CNBC, Mango, Zara and M.A.C tap into the economy, looking to engage with the country’s large, youthful population, digital and creative renaissance and expanding consumer market.

SMEs have been highlighted by both the Nigerian and British governments as significant job creators and a crucial part of their economic growth and sustainability strategies. To be successful, SMEs must move out of their comfort zones and start developing trading relationships with global markets.