Stakeholders at Entertainment Week Lagos discuss building infrastructure

The event is the brainchild of partners in life and work, Deola Art Alade and Darey Art Alade (the Project Fame alumni), together they now spend time making shows for streaming including the hit The Real Housewives of Lagos.

All through this year, countless of these kinds of conferences, billed as a platform for creatives to break bread conversing on the way forward, while also showcasing their creativity in long stalls of booths took place.

Stakeholders at Entertainment Week Lagos 2023 discuss building infrastructure Pulse Nigeria

Yet, the industry which has proven over and over again to be more than capable with the right infrastructure to boost the economy tremendously, has remained largely neglected with little local funding and even lesser legislation.

“The first thing we need to understand is, ‘What drives action?’” the famous photographer Kola Oshalusi said. He had been on a panel with other photographers, Stephen Tayo, Tope Adenola tagged Photography: Africa’s Visual Revolution. “Conversations,” he answered his question.

“The biggest challenge we have is thinking the government doesn't listen. I'd rather say we are not communicating. And how do you communicate? You need to bring materials together with facts and data and be able to share with government,” he continued.

But what is inhibiting growth?

“A lot of things are inhibiting growth. First is knowledge. Nigeria does not have a standard school of the art. So when there is no education, how do you build people? There is no legislation. The government doesn’t understand the industry to say these are the laws that will protect the industry,” he added.

Stakeholders at Entertainment Week Lagos 2023 discuss building infrastructure Pulse Nigeria

Unjaded by the countless conferences, summits, Twitter Space debates, and press conferences, these stakeholders, having invested time and money in building themselves in the ecosystem, insist that there is hope and it can be kindled through events like this.

“As long as the panels are curated properly and the right questions are asked then I do think they are important. Because I do think that a lot of people lack understanding, especially in the creative space where a lot of people are working on their own,” the actress, Eku Edewor, who produced the Prime Video original, Breath of Life told Pulse.

Like others at the event, she had argued breathlessly on a panel with Jade Osiberu (Gangs of Lagos), the Hollywood expat Conphidance, and Kaelo Iyizoba, the Columbia grad behind Boy Meets Girl.

“We’ve shown that we can make films that can track. If we are saying that entertainment is such a great investment space, there needs to be more push for investment even within the country itself…We have no choice but to be open to bigger corporations that are willing to invest if we want to continue to make films,” Edewor said during her panel.

But she, like many people in the industry, has reasons for concern. In the past few years, foreign investors who for years dominated Hollywood have been looking for new burgeoning markets to conquer. Nollywood, for long the pride of the continent, has settled on their gaze as prime for the taking. They have advanced with open checkbooks, funding, by Nollywood standards, massive projects.

Stakeholders at Entertainment Week Lagos 2023 discuss building infrastructure Pulse Nigeria

“Because of the effect of globalisation, I do think that the appetite for cinema mimics the West. We are influenced very heavily by how we communicate our stories,” Edewor cautions.

Kaelo Iyizoba agrees. “For me, it also presents like a double-edged sword,” he said. “We have to fight harder to preserve our authenticity and who we are and make sure that we are not trying to make Hollywood films. I think it's mostly positive, but we also have to be careful with how we take that off,” he added.

The industry doesn't have enough cinemas to serve all Nigerians. But these streaming platforms, to Osiberu, offer a sort of alternative, cushioning that lack. “We are 200 million people potentially. There’s just no way to service those people. And the cinemas just can’t happen rapidly enough, the investment needs structure. Technology if we are being honest is the only thing that can catch up,” she said.

Osiberu is also analysing this moment based on what the streamers have brought; in large parts funding and eyeballs. For her, creatives must think of long-term goals, but embrace the short-term progress that the Western powers affords.

“The long-term plan is to create IPOs that sit with you and you can license…But the thing is you have to have a certain level of power to command ownership,” she added.

Speaking on the funding for big Nollywood projects that these streamers bring, Conphidance said that the industry has to strategically proof itself and utilise the attention while it lasts.

Stakeholders at Entertainment Week Lagos 2023 discuss building infrastructure Pulse Nigeria

“It’s an amazing opportunity for us to create better quality, but there’s also a scary part because you don't know the timeline of what the investors have in mind. They didn’t give you we have a ten-year plan with Nigeria,” he said. “So if Nigeria doesn't capitalise with what is coming in, at some point they can go to other countries too,” he added.