Raheem Akigbolu

Of Creativity, Opportunities and Training In this report, writes on a recent partnership between the School of Media and Communication of LBS and reckons that it would intellectualise the creative industry

Despite its huge potential, the creative industry, has for decades, suffered set back as a result of quality of output. Unlike advertising, which has carved a niche and attracts well educated professionals as practitioners, the entry barrier to the entertainment industry is still very loose.

This explains why stakeholders have consistently insisted on training and partnership to deepen the Nigerian film industry, which produces about 50 movies per week, second only to India’s Bollywood—more than Hollywood in the United States. Although its revenues are not on par with Bollywood’s and Hollywood’s, Nollywood is believed to still generates an impressive $590 million annually.

Succor came the way of the industry last year, when Multichoice, a leading Pay TV company in Africa decided to intervene to grow talent and deepen professionalism by inaugurating Multichoice Talent Factory (MTF).

According to the management of the company, the initiative which was designed to train young men and women of Africa origin, who want to pursue career in film making would also be used to grow and develop African creative industries.

This was considered good news for stakeholders as the continent has for many years endured negative image both locally and internationally. Some analysts attribute this to prejudices of Western countries that, through their powerful global media system exaggerate negative issues in the African continent and play less on their own bad sides.

However, most African economies have done little to change the unacceptable perceptions. They are either beclouded in ignorance of the risks of poor image or correcting it is not their priority as they don’t understand the relationship to economic growth. Good or poor reputation has correlation to level of development.

Branding and image building are about consistent story telling through various platforms such as books, films, documentaries and souvenirs. Europe and Western countries have used this approach successfully but Africa is yet to fully embrace this approach.

MTF to the rescue

As Africa continues to change rapidly, the entertainment industry is ever more relevant and this has shown in many instances. By introducing the talent factory last year, MultiChoice, perhaps recognized the critical role it can play in society to be the driving force behind the development of future talent to help build and strengthen the creative industries across Africa and to play a positive role in Africa by helping to grow Africa’s creative industries into vibrant, economic powerhouses.

At the launch in Nigeria, its Managing Director, John Ugbe, stated that the company believes it can – and must – play an indispensable role alongside government, civil society and communities to solve complex global challenges and drive positive change in communities, thereby creating “shared value”

He said: “Shared Value involves using MultiChoice’s corporate assets and expertise to address stakeholder needs and create shared value for the business and key stakeholders and it’s by creating value for our customers, our employees and society that we’ll build a successful business for the future.

“Through the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), MultiChoice Africa will develop emerging TV and film talent whilst simultaneously promoting the growth of local content in key markets through a well-structured and impactful social investment programme,” he said.

Having been in Nigeria for 26 years the company believed that repackaging Africa cannot be done successfully without training and equipping Africans to tell authentic and well-produced stories.

LBS, Multichoice Partnership

As part of efforts to standardize the programme, the Pay TV company was quick at attracting the School of Media and Communication of the Lagos Business School as partner on the academy. As the first set of the beneficiaries of the project graduated last year, it was emphatically stated that the graduating set have not only acquired but a certificate diploma from a world class institution.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dean of Media and Communication, Ikechukwu Obiaya, expressed his conviction that those benefitted from the project had thus been given another opportunity to take an intellectual look at the industry they have passion for. He pointed out that the training is important in building strong foundation for the evolving industry. He agreed that if stakeholders are keen about changing the quality of film, they must first change the quality of film makers.

The road to the graduating day must have begun last year when promoters of MTF inaugurated a multi-tiered Corporate Shared Value, CSV project in partnership with LBS to ignite Africa’s creative industry. In the first edition, it selected and trained 20 young men and women from Ghana and Nigeria out of 3108 applicants.

Earlier at the ceremony, the CEO of Multichoice Nigeria, John Ugbe told the students that the graduation marked an important day in their lives as it is a new beginning of the journey into their future as the next generation of African storytellers.

“You are now part of a small but growing class of young, creative professionals equipped to tell Africa’s stories through authentic lenses while recognising and embracing her growth possibilities and opportunities”

MTF West Africa Academy Director, Femi Odugbemi, described the training as a landmark programme, noting that the students aptly demonstrated their skills as filmmakers.

“Over the course of the programme, the students expertly honed their raw talent into professional skill. This is the essence of the MTF Academy – giving upcoming talent the chance to hone their abilities thereby increasing the pool of available talent and world class professionals in the industry. This graduation is therefore a landmark moment both for the students and the programme,” Odugbemi said.

Also speaking, Ikechukwu Obiaya, Dean of Media and Communication said the training is important in building strong foundation for the evolving industry. He agreed that if you are going to change the quality of film, you must change the quality of film makers.

In her speech, Lagos State Commissioner for Art and Tourism, Shulamite Adebolu said her desire is to create a one stop shop in the ministry to streamline regulation of films.

Students who excelled during the programme were rewarded with scholarships and grants. Gilbert Bassey, a 26-year-old Nigerian, won a scholarship to enhance his skills at New York Film Academy College of Visual and Performing Arts (NYFA), as he displayed his multidisciplinary abilities during the programme. Also, Edmund Asamoah from Ghana won a two-week internship with Nihilent Limited, a Bollywood production.