Firms Partner to Raise Africa’s Stake in $79.12bn Global Photography Market

Raheem Akingbolu

With the business forecast that the global digital photography market will reach $149.98 billion by 2026, a Nigerian firm; Peexoo Technologies, a tech-based photography platform, has signed a partnership deal with equipment producer, Canon to raise the Africa’s stake in the business.

According to the outlook report, the industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4 percent during the forecast period. In 2017, it put the value of the market at $79.12 billion in 2017.

While there is scant data on the size of the sector in Nigeria, it is believed that the huge volume of photographers, which is in its thousands in Lagos with about 20, 000 daily events around the city, the local market will also witness a surge during the period.

Some of the key factors influencing the market growth include increasing demand for smartphone penetration and rising interest in photography.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Bulb Africa, who also doubles as a co-founder at Peexoo, Wande Adams, disrupting the photography space with technology cannot be done without recognizing the work that Canon has done in the past, hence the partnership.

According to Adam, who spoke in Lagos during the meeting of the managements of the two companies, the partnership is to be able to create more opportunities for the photographers on their platform.

According to him, being able to join forces with Canon and leveraging the amount of its experience will enable them to run masterclasses for African photographers to learn from the past experiences of other photographers.

“What this partnership does is that it will bring international facilitators to train in our master class. It also opens the door for photographers in our community to be able to access opportunities globally, ”he said.

Adams added that Canon is a multinational and the partnership will give validity to Peexoo because it encourages photographers to see a platform that is being recognized by a brand as big as Canon.

Omotayo Omodia, Canon’s country manager, described the partnership as exciting and explained that they chose Peexoo because what they are doing resonates with their corporate belief and goals.

For her, Peexoo creating a platform where photographers can not only drop their content but also make money by meeting potential clients
“I think it’s amazing and for us at Canon, we look forward to helping people tell their stories, skill development, empowerment, and we look forward to more people knowing that Canon is a brand that is there to empower them.”

Highlighting the major benefit of the partnership to image-makers, Omodia noted; “a lot of them are already finding their way (independently) but we would like to play a role to take them from where they are today and give them access to a lot of openings from job developments to platforms where they can showcase their work”

“We have a responsibility to our customers and towards the communities which goes beyond just business,”

“This aligns perfectly with the services we offer image-makers here at Peexoo and buttresses the importance of this partnership in providing solutions to the economic vices facing the continent
Earlier, Tosin Osunkoya, Co-founder, Peexoo Technologies had stated that the partnership is aimed at helping photographers improve their work.
The partnership, according to him, brings together powerhouses in still and motion photography across Africa whereby an e-commerce platform is created to enable photographers to buy Canon products at discounted rates, one of the benefits of the partnership.

According to him, through the partnership, members of the Peexoo community will have access to Canon’s technologies, enjoy free masterclasses, and also purchase equipment seamlessly.

Peexoo is a photography start-up leveraging artificial intelligence technology to support photographers and help upscale their businesses by connecting them to clients. It also serves as a platform for them to archive their work and display them for potential clients.

Already two years in operation, Peexoo has around 1,800 photographers registered. The platform intends to create ‘Peexoo Stock’ to help photographers sell their stock images.

Osunkoya said while a lot of negative things have been said about Africa in the past, Africans must start telling their own stories, as such stories have been found out to be completely false.

“African stories have been told wrongly. For instance, we have been told that Africa is evil, it is a jungle. But that’s not true.

“We need to change the narratives. The only way we can do that is for us to tell our stories by ourselves. Nobody is going to help you tell your own story better. You have to do it yourself. That’s exactly what we are doing at Peexoo.

“We need to start creating content in this country. It is in the like of content creation that we have film makers, story tellers, social media influencers being relevant because they have contents to share.”

“Here at Peexoo, we’re reimagining the creative arts, from how image-makers find jobs to how they edit pictures, create portfolio’s and grow their client base. The work we do is shaping the future of image-making and this global partnership with Canon is the catalyst in bringing the rest of the world into the picture.

“Canon has been a long-standing supporter of film and photography education groups. Their corporate philosophy, kiyose meaning “working and living together for the common good” is evident in their approach towards creatives in Africa,”he said.