Paper short abstract:

This paper explores endogenous bottom-up processes of policy-making focusing on cultural intermediaries in Lagos who through collective interests are effectively influencing public cultural policy in Nigeria.

Paper long abstract:

The present century has seen considerable change in the way Africa is viewed on the global stage. Over time many african states have posted rapid economic growth rates which, in part, has been attributed to the continent's booming entertainment, telecoms and e-commerce industries. Unsurprisingly, in a country like Nigeria the unprecedented growth of the film industry, Nollywood, has brought to attention the potential for the cultural and creative industry to contribute significantly to economic growth despite a lack of institutional frameworks guiding the sector. It would seem that there are endogenous participatory processes shaping cultural and social transformation in Nigeria's creative sector.

These informal governance structures could be as a result of contemporary cultural policy shifting from being led by public to private agents, and the emphasis of the policy-making process being driven by local interests. This article explores a network of intermediaries who are setting the rules of engagement for the cultural economy in Lagos - a bolstering urban and cultural center. These actors, who organize themselves through relatively independent institutions, rely on pluralist notions of public policy-making and utilise unstructured models governed by collective interests and values to effectively influence the direction and growth of public cultural policy in Nigeria.