Sterling Bank Shines Spotlight on Creative Industries Potential

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The leading financial institution in Nigeria, Sterling Bank Plc, has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering and energizing the creative industry due to its strategic value to Nigeria’s economic development.

 

The Head of Media and Entertainment Financing at Sterling Bank, Mr. Olanrewaju Olalusi, disclosed the above at the weekend in Lagos while addressing participants at a seminar organised by the Legends of Nollywood with the theme: “Empowering the Nigerian Film Industry – Actualizing Your Resources.”

 

He said the bank had begun exploring financing of the creative industries in addition to its HEART sectors programme because of its importance to the national economy.

 

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The Nigerian economy’s sectors of Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy, and Transportation have become the focus of Sterling Bank’s strategic emphasis and investments. These industries have been jokingly referred to as the “HEART of Sterling,” and our HEART has made significant contributions to the expansion of the bank, the industries, and the Nigerian economy.

 

Olalusi noted that the bank has set up a desk for the purpose of financing practitioners in the creative industry, information technology (IT), and animation, among other fields, and that it is crucial for artists to leverage funding from financial institutions to scale the level of their operations.

 

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“We are open to having conversations with partners in the creative industry on the way forward.” He said.

 

He asserted that the sector was teeming with incredible talent and potential. Yet, he brought attention to a significant issue facing the sector: a dearth of workable business strategies that would demonstrate originality from a commercial standpoint to investors.

 

The necessity for artists to separate their enterprises from themselves and concentrate on expanding their access to infrastructure and a ready market for their creative expressions, he noted, is growing.

 

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Creatives can improve their situation both creatively and commercially through partnerships with devoted partners like Sterling by utilizing financial consulting services, business loans, and other specially created solutions to advance capacity building and the industry.

 

Mr. Samuel Egube, the Lagos State Commissioner of Planning and Budget, advised participants in the creative industry to think more carefully about how to take advantage of opportunities in the sector in his keynote address. He said that if the sector to expand, it must be able to draw in investment capital and added that government cannot be the only factor in the sector’s expansion.

 

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According to him, the business plan should provide a compelling argument for investors to invest. He said that, as part of its 30-year development plan, the Lagos State Government intends to construct a media city in the Lekki axis for practitioners in the creative industry to benefit from.

 

In a separate speech, Mr. Paul Obazele, President of the Association of Movie Producers, urged his colleagues to take the film industry to a show business level by using financial institutions to extend their operations rather than solely depending on grants.

 

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