Mary Nnah
Africa Creative Market (ACM) is set to hold its inaugural programme between August 29th and September 3rd, 2022. This announcement was made at a press conference on July 1st, 2022 held at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island in the presence of the founder, co-founders, gentlemen and women of press.
President of the Ascend Studios Foundations and Founder of ACM, Dr. Inya Lawal, described the Africa Creative Market as a platform that is focused on growing the Creative Economy. She said the major aim of this program is to create an ecosystem with capacity building, programs/trainings, access to funding; and exposure to the global creative market.
“ACM brings major stakeholders in the African and International Creative Industry together to facilitate value exchange between Africa’s creative sector and the world. ACM’s mission is to empower creatives to scale, by providing the blueprint for establishing commercially viable and sustainable business models” She concluded by mentioning ACM’s partners and supporters such as His Imperial Majesty (H.I.M), Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, OJAJA II, Ooni of Ife, Swedish Embassy, Paramount Africa, Women In Film LA, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI), Berlin Film Festival through the Black European Creative Hub (BECH), Ascend Studios Foundation, WIFT Africa, FWIFT Nigeria, Israel Cinema Project: Rabinovich Foundation, The YD Company, Entertainment IP Ventures, Liechtenstein, 789 Consulting, Kaffy Inc, Wave Nation France, Ekila Agency and a host of other prestigious companies and organisations.
ACM is partnering with Women in Film and TV International (WIFTI), a global network dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video and other screen-based media. The 2022 ACM will host the Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) Summit, as Women in Film and TV (WIFT) members from all over the world celebrate the 25th anniversary of WIFT. In response to the reason for partnering with ACM, the Treasurer of WIFTI and Co-Founder of ACM, Nicole Ackermann said “Africa is an amazing continent, it has a lot of potential and opportunity. To enhance all this, with ACM we are bringing together industry people who can have conversations, learn and listen to one another based on their varying experiences and knowledge. They can exchange ideas and have the chance to find out what is important for them, what elements are necessary to create sustainable business models and solid infrastructures.”
Speaking further at the press conference, Ccountry Manager for Paramount Africa in Nigeria and Co-Founder of the ACM, Bada Akintunde-Johnson, added that ACM seeks to strengthen the foundations of Africa’s creative ecosystem for profitability, sustainability and global recognition. He told the story of how MTV Making The Video trained the first generation of music video directors in the early 2000s and how that proved a key catalyst in transforming the industry. He stressed that ACM’s focus would be on creating access to replicable models, structures and access to the international market. He said “ACM is bridging the gap by training more people, impacting knowledge and teaching people the tricks of the trade. The opportunity for networking is also there. We need more Fireboys, Bujus, Genevieves, Chimamandas and we want to take our stories to the rest of the world.”
Tomisin Olawale, Special Personal Assistant to His Imperial Majesty (H.I.M), Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, OJAJA II, Ooni of Ife, was also at the press conference where he spoke on behalf of ACM’s Grand Patron, The Ooni of Ife. He explained that the involvement of the Monarch is a no brainer when we look at the affinity of the royalty with grassroot, youth and cultural development. When asked how he thinks the modules ACM is bringing can push African Culture and narrative, he said, “Like I mentioned earlier, the problem we have is documentation. We do not keep records, and we allow other people tell our stories. We are dedicated to partnering with ACM to project and tell our indigenous stories ourselves, and to tell our truth now and for generations to come.”
Lastly, Yetty Ogunnubi, CEO The YD Company and ACM Partner weighed in on the conversation from the angle of marketing by inviting media houses to come onboard and amplify the event in Africa and beyond. She said “we are calling on the media houses to partner with us in amplifying the Africa Creative Market, creating a buzz towards the event.”
The event opens on August 29th with a deep dive with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Content Creation for Impact. This will be followed by trainings, pitch session, panel discussions, creative market activities, funding sessions, networking e.t.c for creatives across Film/TV, Music, Fashion, Dance sectors; and sub sectors such as: Advertising, Games, Cultural Education, Edutainment, VR/AR and Photography.
