The Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, Anna Westerholm, has reiterated Sweden’s interest in deepening creative, cultural and digital collaborations with Nigeria, following an official visit to the Chocolate City Group office.
According to a statement, the ambassador’s visit was part of efforts to strengthen Nordic–African partnerships within the global creative economy, with a focus on music, digital innovation, and talent development.
Westerholm led a delegation that included Fredrik Åhsberg, Jasmine Osueke, Johanna Beckman and Georg Herlitz. The delegation met with senior executives of Chocolate City Group, led by the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Abuchi Peter Ugwu, and the Executive Vice President of Chocolate City Music, Aibee Abidoye.
Other team members present at the meeting included Moyosore Olumode, Uwana Luke, Osagie Onobun, Blessing Fidelis and Biola Tijani.
Discussions during the engagement centred on the evolving global music ecosystem, digital optimisation, talent development and opportunities for deeper creative exchange between Nigeria and Sweden. Both parties acknowledged Nigeria’s growing influence as a global music powerhouse and Sweden’s long-standing reputation as a centre for music innovation and hitmaking.
The meeting explored collaboration opportunities across digital platforms, live experiences, touring infrastructure and creative development. Participants also emphasised the need to democratise music creation and education, while adopting modern approaches to talent development that support cross-cultural collaboration and global exchange.
The statement noted that there was strong interest in connecting African artists, producers and songwriters with creative communities in Sweden, alongside efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure and optimisation across platforms.
Participants highlighted the natural synergy between Nigerian and European markets, stating that strategic partnerships could unlock new opportunities for artists and creators on both sides.
Live performances, touring opportunities and digital revenue optimisation emerged as key areas for potential collaboration. The statement added that these initiatives are expected to complement Chocolate City Group’s expanding ecosystem, including plans for a dedicated creative hub in Jos and the launch of a Founders Fund later in the year to support emerging talent and creative entrepreneurship across Nigeria.
Speaking on the engagement, Ambassador Westerholm stated that Sweden was keen on building sustainable partnerships with Africa’s creative industries.
She said, “Sweden has a long history of music innovation, and we see immense value in collaborating with Africa’s vibrant creative industries. Meetings like this reinforce the potential for knowledge exchange, sustainable partnerships, and shared growth that benefits creators on both sides.”
Also commenting, Chocolate City’s Abidoye noted that the discussions opened up significant possibilities for impactful collaborations.
He said, “It is exciting to see the possibilities emerging from these discussions. Sweden has a well-established global reputation as a hub for pop music and hitmakers, and its interest in Chocolate City and African music more broadly holds strong potential to create impactful collaborations and contribute to the improvement of local creative infrastructure.”
At the end of the visit, both parties committed to exploring further collaborative opportunities focused on digital optimisation, touring synergies and talent development initiatives aimed at bridging Nordic and African creative industries.
Chocolate City Group is one of Nigeria’s leading music and entertainment companies, with operations spanning music production, digital distribution, talent management and creative development initiatives.
