… Nigeria losing billions to low investment in the creative industry
AfriLabs, a Pan African Innovation Organisation, is seeking partnership of the government and Private Sector to unlock opportunities in Nigeria’s multi- billion dollars creative economy.
The innovation hub argued that the creative economy in Nigeria is capable of generating jobs for Nigeria’s teeming youths, and is also capable of boosting the nation’s GDP if the government creates the right policies
This was the opinion of stakeholders at a forum in Lagos tagged “Art Tech Lagos”.
While fielding question from Newsmen, the Executive Director, Afrilabs, Ann Ekeledo
said the goal of her organisation was to partner with critical stakeholders including governments in driving investments as well as commercializing the creative economy such that creatives would derive maximum benefits from their works and contribute more to the country’s GDP.
Ekeledo stated that the sector has the opportunity to create millions of jobs for young people , thereby addressing the worsening unemployment situation in the country.
She described Nigeria as a nation of great talents in music, comedy, writing , fashion, dancing amongst others.But we need to stimulate the best domestic investment, domestic capital, the banks and capital investment and equity banks to build venues, build more production lots, build more opportunities, and more facilities that enable the industry.
“Everybody knows about how African creatives have become a soft power outside the continent. Everywhere you go across the world, you hear Nigerian music, you have Nigerian films, next generation fashion as well. What we aimed at is to making the sector a lot more financially viable industry where revenue generated can improve the economy of our nation.
“We want other stakeholders, like the government, for example, to begin to see the creative economy as critical to social and economic growth and investing in it. We want to see creative policies and regulations by the government that will make the creative sector thrive”, she noted.
Ekeledo explained that as part of measures to scale up the sector, there was need for policies that can ensure the protection of intellectual property, guaranteed infrastructures and technologies for producing quality works, be made available.
Also, subsidies for filmmakers to reduce cost of production and create a marketplace for practitioners.
On her part , a Board Member of Afrilabs, Dr. Itoro Emembolu urged that the practitioners in the creative ecosystem should leverage on expertise as one of the way to enhance the quality and quantity of their work and equally increase their online presence to become more viable economically.
Dr. Emembolu, stressed the need for indigenous social media platforms that will enable local creatives enjoy more benefits from their works, she called on them to accelerate creation of local contents ,since the number of contents uploaded online determines the revenue base.
” When you own the content, then you can now generate revenue from that content. Every content you put on YouTube, get generating revenue on it, just a small percentage. So how can we create that content situated here and generate the revenue and gain royalties on wherever it goes, because our content is going worldwide? Those are the conversations we need to have within ourselves and government to see how we can move that forward”, she said
Meanwhile, the Convener of Omniverse and founder of Storm 360 and a prominent reality TV Show Judge, Obi Asika, said that the Nigerian government and Nigerians need to place more values on the nation’s creative and cultural works including traditional festivals and films, describing them as the most original and among the biggest globally.
Asika said that all that is required to unlock the one billion dollar industry is to properly package the contents and push them to a wider audience, preferebly through TV.
He said that TV remains the biggest platform to market creative contents, as he enjoined TV stations to jettison the culture of selling airtime, but rather concentrate on creating contents, which is more profitable.
“We have to engage ourselves, we have to engage our actual culture, our indigenous value. And until you place value on yourself, you cannot have money. If you diminish who you are, you will stay diminished. So we have to elevate everything about ourselves.
“And when you elevate what you are, and you’re now visible, those that have distribution, which is the key thing that I’m talking to technology, guys, the technology can bring distribution and scale and monetization.
“And while you can make money, because that is the fundamental thing, you want to be able to monetize the content, monetize the stories, and the stories are taught in many different ways, Podcasts, documentary, film, animation, music, literature, poetry”.
“We have abandoned our own mythology. The greatest stories in the world that are untold are in Africa. In Nigeria, you have more cultural festivals than anywhere in the world. When we stop being afraid of ourselves, then we own the world.
“So we have 400 TV stations. TV stations don’t sell airtime. They make content. And advertisers can see what is the most watched content and they give you the money. So our advertising industry is big enough for a television community to be at least a billion dollars a year today.
He said that Nigeria is missing out on the multi-billion revenue from the creative industry because of the lack of infrastructure like Netflix and Amazon as well as world class venues.
Asika emphasized the need for Africa to create our own platform where we can tell our stories the African way. Africans/ Nigerians are running away from our ancestry, creating and owning indigenous platforms can indeed empower Africans and potentially generate substantial income for the continent. Having platforms like YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and Amazon uniquely tailored to the needs and interests of African communities could provide numerous opportunities for local content creators, artists, entrepreneurs, and businesses.
He added that by owning and controlling these platforms, Africans would have more influence in shaping the digital landscape and retaining the financial gains within their own communities. Additionally, these platforms could serve as a means to preserve and promote African culture, languages, and talents, creating a stronger sense of identity and pride.
However, Asika said it is important to note that establishing and scaling such platforms requires significant investment, technological prowess, and infrastructure development. Collaboration and partnerships with global entities could also be beneficial to gain insights, resources, and expand reach.
Nevertheless, he said supporting and encouraging the growth of African-owned digital platforms could indeed play a crucial role in the economic empowerment and development of the continent.
Asika also believes that the creative economy could deliver 10 million jobs.” We have abandoned our own mythology. The greatest stories in the world that are untold are in Africa, then Nigeria you have more cultural festivals than anywhere in the world. When we stop being afraid of ourselves, then we own the world.
The Storm 360 boss said industry players and the government need to stimulate investment in streaming platforms, and building of venues and theatres among others in other to avoid capital flights.
He said the lack of infrastructure has given the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Spotify an undue advantage over the domestic market.
Asika said, “So, if you want to stream, you have Spotify, Apple Music, Netflix, and Amazon, yes some of the money is going out but of course, some of the money is coming into the economy because without that investment, we can’t create the product.
” Nigerian governments and Nigerians need to place more values on the nation’s creative and cultural works including traditional festivals and films,describing them as the most original and among the biggest globally.
The celebrity noted that all that is required to unlock the one billion dollar industry is to properly package the contents and push them to a wider audience, preferably the TV.
Asika stated that TV remains the biggest platform to market creative contents, as he enjoined TV stations to jettison the culture of selling airtime, but concentrate on creating contents, which is more profitable.
In his words: “We have to engage ourselves, we have to engage our actual culture, our indigenous value. And until you place value on yourself, you cannot have money. If you diminish who you are, you will stay diminished. So we have to elevate everything about ourselves. And when you elevate what you are, and you’re now visible, those that have distribution, which is the key thing that I’m talking to technology, guys, the technology can bring distribution and scale and monetization.
“And while you can make money, because that is the fundamental thing, you want to be able to monetize the content, monetize the stories, and the stories are taught in many different ways, Podcasts, documentary, film, animation, music, literature, poetry”.
“This market is not just that we are talented, are we visible. If they can’t see you, they can’t be investing. So we have 400 TV stations. TV stations don’t sell airtime. They make content. And advertisers can see what is the most watch content and they give you the money. So our advertising industry is big enough for a television community to be at least a billion dollars a year today.
“The creative economy in Africa is a rapidly growing sector that encompasses a wide range of industries include music, film, Literature,art, fashion and digital media.
According to Africa: No filter, the creative and cultural industries across Africa generate about US$4.2 billions in revenue and have a growth rate that outpaced other sectors on the continent. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the potential of the creative economy to accelerate economic growth and development in Africa. Creativity and technology has always existed from the invention of the paintbrush to the recording music.
The event brought together notable creative Nigerians from across the country, including Creative Director and Choreographer, Kaffy and Efe Omorogbe who spoke on “value chain opportunities in the music industries.