Animation stakeholders have called for more investment, stronger Intellectual Property (IP) protection, as well as deliberate government support to unlock Nigeria’s animation industry and position it as a global exporter of African stories.
The stakeholders made the call at the third edition of Iseda on Thursday night in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Iseda is an initiative of the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, in partnership with Ouida House.
The event highlighted animation as a fast-growing creative enterprise capable of creating jobs, nurturing skills and opening career pathways for young Nigerians.
Julie McKay, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General, said the programme was designed to inspire creativity and deepen Nigeria-U.S. collaboration through the creative industries.
“It is an inspiration and a partnership that we have with BookBuzz Foundation and Ouida House.
“We’ve done music, we’ve done fashion, and today we did animation.
“All of it is part of our Freedom 250 celebration of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence,” she said.
McKay said the U.S. Mission was creating opportunities for young Nigerians through its network of American spaces across the country, where free training in animation, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship was available.
“They are free, open to the public, provide training, free internet.
“Young people can learn things like AI, they can learn animation.
“They can get business skills that can help them start a business, grow a business,” she said.
She added that the partnership would strengthen cultural exchange while expanding opportunities in the creative economy.
During the panel, Tolu Olowofoyeku, Co-founder of Kugali Ltd., said the industry’s biggest hurdle remained access to investment.
Olowofoyeku noted that many financiers had yet to understand animation as a viable business.
“African investors, right now are not interested in investing in animation but once one of our IPs hits that site and becomes recognizable across the world, that is when we will start seeing brands really ready to exploit that IP,” he said.
He also urged creators to pay closer attention to the commercial value of their IP, adding that financing depended on strong business structures as much as creative talent.
“You need to go where they are. Investors are more interested in how your money comes back for them,” he said.
He advised creators to build marketing and licensing strategies around their projects from the outset.
For Stanley Ojika of Magic Carpet Studios, the industry’s growth would also depend on producing globally recognized intellectual property capable of attracting investors who currently remain skeptical of animation.
“We become more believable to them when you’ve done something that is really remarkably successful.
“That’s why our work matters, because eventually, when we do something and put it out there, and the world likes it, then we can boldly and confidently go to these people and show them what’s possible,” he said.
Author and disability advocate, Tonye Faloughi-Ekezie, demonstrated another side of animation, explaining how it had become a powerful educational tool after she struggled to explain Down Syndrome to her son following the birth of her daughter with the condition.
“I saw how powerful music and animation was, and the two together, animated music videos, I could get her to grasp concepts.
“I could get her to do things that she wouldn’t ordinarily do,” she said.
Faloughi-Ekezie said her journey had grown from publishing children’s books to creating animation projects and establishing a neurodiverse creators lab, where young people with Down syndrome, autism, ADHD and other developmental conditions receive training in animation, music and film production.
She also urged creators to protect their IP during negotiations with investors.
The stakeholders agreed that while Nigeria possessed abundant creative talent and stories with global appeal, sustained investment, stronger IP protection, capacity building and coordinated public policy would be needed to transform animation into a major contributor to the country’s creative economy. (NAN)
