Design the Funding Infrastructure Nigerian Artists Actually Need

Most arts funding in Nigeria flows through international foundations with eligibility criteria written for Western institutional applicants. Independent visual artists, theatre makers, and documentary filmmakers working in Nigeria have almost no access to structured, accessible grants or investment. Crowdfunding platforms exist but are not optimised for African audiences or payment systems. Your challenge is to design an arts funding platform tailored to Nigeria and the broader West African creative sector. It must combine grants, crowdfunding, and commercial commissions in a single interface, support payments via mobile money and bank transfer, and include a simple, culturally relevant pitch process. Submit a product design and business model document (max 12 pages) covering: user flows for artists and funders, payment infrastructure, how funding decisions are made fairly, anti-fraud mechanisms, and a plan to launch with at least 20 participating artists in the first cohort. Judging criteria: 35% accessibility for artists without institutional backing, 30% business model viability, 20% fairness of funding process, 15% payment and fraud design.