The Grapevine Segment: Nigeria’s E&M Sector’s Projected Growth – Boom or Mirage? Exciting figures, but who is actually getting paid?

In an economy plagued by inflation, threatening everyone and their grandmother- from CEOs to Joe in his superstore built with discarded flex materials, the 8.6% projected growth of Nigeria’s E&M sector is something to cheer. It indicates advancements against very strong undeniable head winds, and that is worth celebrating. 

Now if you have a queasy feeling at the pit of your stomach, questioning if these are not drummed up numbers because you saw and felt nothing of the growth that is described in PwC’s Africa Entertainment and Media Outlook 2024-2028, of an industry you have given years of your life to, you are right to feel this way. Two truths can hold space at the same time, that the growth potential indicated in the report is true, but also that it is growth that is stuff of fevered imaginations for most of the people that represent the myriad of careers that form the Entertainment and Media industry in Nigeria. 

Take a closer look at the beneficiaries of this growth spurt, and you will find that macro level players (large corporations) gained the most, a large percentage of micro players(freelancers and informal workers) did not see gains, and no gains accrued to meso level players (SMEs, Skill-based Unions)  because the meso strata of Nigeria’s E&M industry does not exist. Volume of research work alludes to the same thing – the gains of the sector does not benefit the health and growth of the industry. 

“Nollywood’s growth is like a balloon—expanding fast but hollow inside” – The source of the quote is unknown but this latest outlook on the E&M industry in Nigeria proves its point. 

Let’s break it down, who made and who will make the biggest gains and which demography gets next to nothing of the juicy outlook.

Nigeria E&M Sector Growth Beneficiary Breakdown (Appendix 1)

The industry is sustained by informal labour, labour that is unprotected with sources of income described as precarious. These are the sustainers of the growth the industry benefits from and if that growth is to be sustained then the focus of investment has to be the holistic growth of the industry, this is what will sustain real sustainable growth that returns value not just for the few.

The Nollywood boom could be a Siren’s call to investors. More akin to a pyramid scheme, than it is a viable business opportunity. As is, it benefits the top as the bottom scrambles and scrapes, until energy is completely zapped and the pyramid disintegrates on top of the bottom crawlers, while the top walks away with barely a scratch and pockets full, on to the next pyramid. But it does not have to be.

The PwC report provides insight into areas of growth that will support sustainable investment, and these areas are begging for investors to plug in and invest in a sector with realisable potential.

How? Build, don’t just extract!

5 Critical Questions Investors Must Ask

1. Does this investment reduce dependency on foreign platforms and create or optimise local platforms, supporting local control? 
2. Does it create recurring, long-term safe revenue and income streams for smaller players instead of one-time payouts for big players? Does it redistribute value?
3. Does it support workforce upskilling and formalisation – building that critical meso layer?
4. Does it help build infrastructure and tools that democratise access so access does not become an exclusive club or a tool of control?

Truthfully answering these questions and allowing investments to flow in the direction of the logic that emerges will yield fruits everyone can benefit from and then we can truthfully toast to growth that will last.

Connect with Adenike –  LinkedIn: Adenike Aloba, Instagram: Adenike Aloba