The CEO of Sparkz of Life Group, Mr. Mezue Chiagozie has called for investment in the entertainment industry in the South East to make the region competitive.
Chiagozie also known as CB Sparkz said the South East as a region has benefited little from the growth of creative industry because it lacks investors.
CB Sparkz, however, stressed that the South East has all it takes to compete with other regions in Nigeria when it comes to entertainment industry.
The entrepreneur and entertainment proprietor lamented that the attention the entertainment industry is getting from investors in the South East is not encouraging and has been a major worry to the growth of the industry.
The Nigerian entertainment and creative industry have experienced massive growth over the last decade. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the entertainment industry now accounts for 1.45 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP.
In 2016, the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector generated N239 billion in revenue, culminating in about 2.3 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP for that year. Nollywood, which is the movie production subsector of the entertainment and creative industry, is globally recognised as the second largest film producer in the world, coming behind America’s Hollywood and ahead of India’s Bollywood.
Chiagozie further explained that the popularity that the industry has garnered over the years has seen Nigerian artists collaborating with their foreign counterparts and striking multimillion-dollar music recording and publishing deals with international record publishing companies such as Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, amongst others.
He reiterated that as a result of its successes in the local and international markets, in 2018, global streaming giant, Netflix acquired worldwide rights to Lion Heart, a Nigerian movie directed by Genevieve Nnaji.
In that same year, he recalled that Netflix announced that it will be putting out $8 billion original budget to work in Nigeria’s movie industry. In furtherance of this, in February 2020, Netflix made its official debut in Nigeria, acquiring and distributing Nigerian filmed content across the globe.
“The contribution of the South East entertainment industry to Nigeria’s economic and social growth cannot be underestimated.
“The industry has been responsible for the creation of over a million jobs and it is still creating more jobs for Nigerians; albeit the sector barely enjoys support from investors and the government.
“If the region’s entertainment industry gets the adequate support it needs such as what the Lagos market gets from investors, it is indubitable that the quality of the content being produced and released yearly will improve.
“Fortunately, this support is not limited to the provision of grants and loans as the government can also explore other means like the provision of various incentives to the industry.
He added that the government must also seek to establish an entertainment and creative industry-based incentive as well as include the entertainment and creative industry on the list of sectors eligible to access investment tax credit incentives.
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