The Nigerian creative industry has shown its capacity to attain global recognition and partnerships with foreign firms but shortage of investment and funding are major factors undermining its potential.
Speaking at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C., Linus Idahosa, CEO/founder of Del York Creative Academy said one of the challenges hampering the potential of the creative industry in Nigeria is the government’s inability to understand the value of creatives and use them accordingly.
Idahosa said there are many talents working hard in the field who should serve as ambassadors, but there isn’t a deliberate attempt to employ them as people who would rebrand the country both through their music and their stories.
“Seeds have already been sown by young creatives across the country; as far as education goes, we have quite a number of people who are paying attention to capacity building. We have a lot of young people who are now prolific content creators and they are shaping the cultural strength and artistic flair of the creative industry. Where the attention should be focused on is enterprise and how they can convert these creative talents into companies and businesses that can move the industry to where it should be,” Idahosa said.
He said content creators in Nollywood, the country’s film industry, should not only have a brand name but be able to market it and create an enterprise with the government and private sector playing important roles to grow the industry. He stressed the need to isolate the challenges the industry has and provide a very clear-cut direction that will involve the right policies and the right structure that will attract the kind of businesses and finding the industry needs to get to its next phase.
“The average young Nigerian is gifted locally and internationally; therefore, how to mobilise the energies of these creatives in a way to help them to get return on the investments must be addressed,” Idahosa said.
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Funding a project in the creative sector has proven to be difficult as filmmakers struggle to get enough money to finance a movie project. Idahosa advised that for people to invest in the creative industry, creators should see their brand as a business to attract investors. “The problem is how you find people liking to operate in silos; there is a science behind productivity in the creative industry and you have to understand it first and see it as a business in your mind and these investors will continue to take you seriously.”
Giving an example of how the city of Georgia in 2008 set out to compete with Hollywood and become one of the most lucrative industries in the US, he said the creative industry needs to have a business plan that shows investors how money will come in. Idahosa said partnership with the Lagos State government to build one of the largest film infrastructures will set the stage for all the creative and commercial possibilities that the industry has.
Ojoma Ochai, managing partner at The Creative Economy Practice at Co-Creation Hub, said at the summit that investors themselves need proper education on the creative industry. “As an asset class, the creative industry is not that developed; investors whether venture capitalist or debt financiers like banks know how to finance an oil and gas deal because they have been doing it for over 60 years but the question on how money is made in the creative industry is relatively new.”
She added that even when there is a willingness to invest, the mechanism most times is not right; hence they need education on the tools to invest in the creative economy.
