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South Africa-based Nigerian entertainment guru, George Beke, has harped on the need for the application of business-proven approaches to grow the creative industry in Africa.
The founder and CEO of Geobek Entertainment, a pan African entertainment platform, stated this at a two-day conference hosted by Showbiz Entertainment Africa, in Gaborone, Botswana penultimate weekend.
Beke, who spoke at the conference attended by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Botswana, also advised African countries to consider diversifying their investment portfolios through their respective creative industries.
The University of Johannesburg graduate of Film, TV Productions and Communications also identified rooms for growth in Botswana’s creative industry. “The best way to make it out there is to stick to the originality of your content and don’t try to copy anyone. Also being able to look at yourself and the market objectively and understand how to push yourself forward,” Beke said.
According to him, Botswana’s entertainment and creative industry has potential to significantly contribute to the national economic growth, thus taking advantage of such industry developments was vital at this stage.
Beke also noted that constant training, mentorship, affiliation, policies and funding from relevant stakeholders were all necessary ingredients to boost Botswana’s promising industry, adding that such has been proven in countries like Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa.
In 2013, Beke consulted for Universal Music South Africa as A&R specialist. He also facilitated collaborations for Universal Music artistes and helped in licensing music from top Nigerian labels and artistes for Universal Music compilation of Nigerian music’s ‘Naija Hits’. He equally helped in licensing major African music for Samsung music App (Kleek).
