By Chinenye Anuforo [email protected]
With a growing economy, vibrant creative industry, and the emergence of entrepreneurship and SMBs, among others, Nigeria has continued to be one of Canon’s key markets in Africa. In this interview with Daily Sun, Amine Djouahra, B2C, BU director, Canon Central and North Africa, on Canon’s operations in Nigeria and contributions of the company to growing the economy.
Excerpts…
Tell us about Canon’s presence in the country and its commitment
With a population exceeding 220 million, Nigeria stands as Africa’s largest economy and a hub of creativity, boasting the world’s second-largest film industry. Having launched Canon products in Nigeria in 2016, we have since then introduced innovative cameras and printers that meet the needs, the passion and the lifestyle of Nigerians and Africans, tapping into significant potential.
Through our ‘Closer to Customer’ strategy, we’ve forged a robust local presence in Nigeria, providing unwavering support with top-tier photography and videography products. Even during economic challenges, we’ve remained committed to Nigeria’s growth potential and we continued to invest in the country aiming to strengthen our relationships on the ground with end users & business partners through projects like the R TOUR or the Content Creator’s Summit.
As a responsible business, we create job opportunities and future livelihoods by offering workshops to photographers, videographers, filmmakers and print business owners to enhance and support their skill sets. We have done this through collaborations with Yaba College of Technology and Lagos Photo Festival. We also recognize and empower Nigerian photographers like Emmanuel Oyeleke and Yagazi Emezi through our Canon EMEA Ambassador Programme. This pioneering initiative unites the world’s top photographers and videographers across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to collaborate with Canon and passionately engage in visual storytelling.
Our Student Development Programme’ also supplements young photographers with unique and bespoke educational programme designed to enhance students’ visual storytelling skills thereby advancing their careers. As part of our commitment to inspire and support the next generation of image makers, we work in collaboration with PEEXO, a photography community in Nigeria, and the University of Lagos (UNILAG). We want to grow the market share in Nigeria and ensure the provision of high quality, technologically advanced products that meet the requirements of the rapidly evolving market.
What about Canon’s recent collaboration with The Lagos Photo Festival?
We have recently collaborated with the renowned Lagos Photo Festival, one of the most prominent photography festivals in Africa. The collaboration is a significant step in the realm of photography and technology, bringing together two industry leaders to create an unparalleled experience for photography enthusiasts and professionals. The collaboration was geared not only to showcase our technological progress, but also to offer educational avenues through our programs like Canon Miraisha Programme and Canon Academy Juniors.
Our Miraisha Programme empowers participants to cultivate valuable expertise in areas such as photography, filmmaking, and digital imaging with the primary objective of gaining skills to generate a future income from their talents, whereas our Canon Academy Juniors Programme caters to children aged 8 to 16, offering enjoyable and concise photography courses guided by our Canon-certified trainers. This unique opportunity allows children to foster a new hobby and passion, nurturing their creativity and skills from a young age. It created a great opportunity to inspire a new wave of visual storytellers and foster a sense of community and growth within the photography ecosystem.
The festival brought together photographers, artists, enthusiasts, content creators, and industry professionals from around the world to showcase and engage with a diverse range of photographic works and narratives. As a part of this initiative, we also present prizes to promising young photographers.
Canon’s support to Nigeria’s photography ecosystem
Canon as a brand has always been at the forefront of innovation and technology. Canon’s continuous relationship with empowering the African creative market via innovative technology has supported the rise of Africa’s photography.
We have been introducing a stream of new products and solutions to Nigeria and Africa in general to meet the rapidly evolving needs. Our focus is on offering leading industry know-how and award-winning cameras and lenses for enthusiast and professional photographers. This endeavour enables both beginner and professional photographers access the best-in-class imaging technology take their experiences to the next level, thereby advancing Nigeria’s photography ecosystem.
Canon’s educational programs in Nigeria
Canon is committed to invests in education and nurture youth talent in Africa. Canon has continued to embark on social education programmes through Young People Programme and Miraisha, delivering measurable positive social impact. The Canon Miraisha programme creates sustainable future livelihoods throughout Africa, delivering photography education across the region. The program aims to have trained 10,000 participants by the year 2025 and Nigeria will be a key beneficiary.
The Canon Young People Programme (YPP) is an initiative that uses the SDGs as a framework to provide education, skills, and equipment to young people and bring about a positive and sustainable change through visual storytelling. As part of its commitment to advancing educational opportunities with a myriad of initiatives, Canon Central and North Africa has created educational partnerships in Nigeria. Canon works in collaboration with PEEXO, a photography community in Nigeria, and the University of Lagos (UNILAG). Further expanding the horizon of learning, we introduced the first-of-its-kind virtual film school called the Canon Academy Video.
Canon’s Multicam Show in Nigeria
With majority of the industry yet to transition to digital, raising awareness and educating the market about the importance of this shift is crucial and Canon is well-positioned to lead this transformation.
In alignment with our company’s unwavering commitment to providing innovative and technology-driven imaging solutions to customers in Africa, Canon Central and North Africa organized the much-anticipated Multicam Show in Nigeria for the first time in July this year. The Multicam Show in Nigeria presented a great opportunity to get closer to our valued customers and provide them with a hands-on experience of Canon’s promising multicamera technology. It was geared towards driving and encouraging the digital technology shift in Nigeria’s multimedia industry.
The exclusive event provided a platform to showcase Canon’s cutting-edge multicamera technology and foster collaborations and partnerships to drive business opportunities while enhancing end-user confidence in Canon products. With an impressive line-up of experts from the imaging and technology sectors, participants were able to connect and interact with professionals who have extensive knowledge and expertise in their respective fields, gaining insights into the latest trends, techniques, and solutions in the multi-cam industry.