#OP-ED: The Nigerian Creative Industries - Tackling The Challenges

In recent times there have been numerous reports about the relevance of the creative industries to the development of National economies.

It has been reported that world trade in creative goods and services is one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy, doubling from 2002 to 2011, when it reached a record of US$ 624 billion. At the same time, developing countries averaged 12.1 per cent annual growth in the export of creative goods and services.

According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator, Helen Clark,  “The cultural and creative industries are important engines of economic growth. They generate jobs and income and contribute to individual and community well-being in both developed and developing economies”

In Africa, the creative industries have experienced immense growth in the past decade. An October  2013 Business Day article reported, Oby Ezekwesili, the former Minister of Education and former Vice President of the World Bank, Africa,  as valuing  Nigeria’s  creative industry potential at over N5 trillion with annual turn-over of over N500 billion- indicating that it could be a bigger asset than the country’s oil industry.

With all of the optimism being expressed, the potential of the creative economy is not without its challenges. In this post, I aim to highlight some options for tackling the challenges facing the creative industries; before that though, just in case you’re wondering “What, exactly are the creative industries?” and “Why are they important?”

#101 Series: Protecting Your Ideas: An Introduction to Non-Disclosure Agreements

One of the aims of this blog is to aid the understanding and creation of Intellectual Property (IP). Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind that may be transformed into a functional, visual and/or artistic form for the benefit and enjoyment of others.  One of the key goals of Intellectual Property Law is the protection of ideas by the owner.

Ideas may be protected by various means; by copyrights in the case of a literary or artistic work, by a patent- if you are an inventor who has created a functional product, a trademark   for your logo, product or cartoon character, or by a registered design for the way   a product looks.

Regardless of what type of intellectual property you are protecting, there will be a need to share your ideas with some people such as investors, technical partners or promoters, before the product gets to the market.   At this stage, issues like confidentiality, non-circumvention and non-disclosure become important.

Many years ago, I submitted a proposal to a Finance Company in response to an open Request for Proposal (RFP).  The lady who received my proposal was really pleasant, and I was really hopeful.

After awaiting feedback for what I figured was too long a time, I decided to approach someone in the company who ought to know about the RFP. He came back to me saying he didn’t find my proposal in all the submissions. However, he saw a proposal which was almost identical to mine (as per the copy I showed him), and it had been submitted by a company the husband of the pleasant lady worked for.

Op-Ed: On African Innovation: Where Do We Begin?

             

In the first installment of this series on African Innovation, I sought to establish the fact Africa was ripe for innovation, if necessity was the mother of invention,   and that African innovation, need not be high-tech. In the second part (read here), I asked the   question:  Can African Innovate? My preliminary answer : Africans Innovate, therefore Africa can innovate, IF…

The “IF” introduced a series of preconditions, which would be critical for driving relevant African Innovation. 

In this edition, I would like to address one of those pre-conditions by asking the question, where do we begin? 

In order to get “there” however, a little digression: a few days ago I read some refreshing news about two Nigerian female students who had won an Award in the Medicine and Health category, of the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, in LA. They had found a solution for bad breath using walnuts. They actually came up with an hypotheses and tested it by conducting structured research into it leading to  an innovation that solves a problem which according to them is  faced by many of their peers.

They were secondary school students (Doregos Academy), just like the other young girls (Where are the guys?) the ones who powered a generator using urine.

This story was refreshing in and of itself, but it further served to reinforce my belief that African Innovation must begin with Africa’s Education.  We cannot change a people until we

#Opportunities: Call For Applications - Innovation Prize For Africa

The IPA is an initiative of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) started in 2011. IPA honours and encourages innovative achievements that contribute toward developing new products, increasing efficiency or saving cost in Africa. 


The prize also promotes among young African men and women the pursuit of science, technology and engineering careers as well as business opportunities with potential of contributing to sustainable development in Africa. Specifically, the award targets technological breakthroughs in such main concern areas as manufacturing and service industry, health and well-being,agriculture and agribusiness, environment, energy and water and ICTs. To date, there have been three (3) rounds of competition.

• Mobilizing leaders from all sectors to fuel African innovation

• Promoting innovation across Africa in key sectors through the competition

• Promoting science, technology and engineering as a rewarding,career path among African youth.

• Encouraging entrepreneurs, innovators, funding bodies and business development service providers to exchange ideas and explore innovative business opportunities.

IPA 2015 consists of three prizes:

• USD 100,000 for the winner with the best innovation based on marketability, originality, scalability, social impact, scientific/technical aspect and clear business potentials

• USD 25,000 for the Second Prize with the best commercial/business potential and

• USD 25,000 for the Special Prize for Social Impact Innovation which awards the innovation with the highest social impact in the community/country.

The IPA is focused on:

By providing USD 150,000 to winners who deliver market-oriented solutions for African-led development, the IPA acknowledges and encourages the endeavor of innovators and entrepreneurs and works to raise their profiles on the development agenda.

Application deadline: 31st October, 2014 

For more info, visit: http://ow.ly/AwkL3 

Are You A Creative Entrepreneur? You Should Read This!

Before Nigeria's GDP rebasing, it was hard to tell exactly how much the creative industries have contributed to the country's growth. One thing was clear though, Nigeria's creative industries are almost single-handedly responsible for rebranding the country. Where corruption, advance fee fraud and poor development indices have embarrassed us in the international community, our creative industries have given us reasons to stand proud. From music to fashion to our very own Nollywood, we have something(s) to brag about while we work on fixing the other malfunctioning parts.

Over 50% of Nigeria's economic growth has been attributed to its informal sector of which the creative industries form a major part. Now the government is paying more attention and actively putting structures in place to maximise opportunities this new revelation has presented.

As important as these efforts are, there are other important considerations that will help the creative entrepreneur sustain his/her business. At the center of Nigeria's efforts to stimulate growth within the sector is the concept of intellectual property (IP). IP in Nigeria is still a murky landscape with fluid definitions and poor stakeholder understanding of the subject.

For the creative entrepreneur to thrive, IP needs to take center-stage in discourse, planning and management of creative initiatives and in policy and investment decisions targeted at the sector - IP from a local perspective, one that interprets the legal and business implications of everyday decisions creatives make and takes into consideration the peculiarities of doing business in Africa.

At Adelphi Consulting, we have decided to make this our overarching mission, straddling the intersection between arts, culture, IP law, business and technology.

If you own or manage a record label, a production, publishing outfit or marketing communications agency; if you are an artiste, movie or music producer, actor/actress, inventor or fashion designer; if you license or distribute content, are considering investing in the creative industry or if you're someone who has a unique idea and looking for ways to protect and maximize it, we look forward to hearing from you.

For more info on Adelphi visit:

Website: www.adelphionline.com

Twitter: @Adelphi_IP

Facebook: AdelphiAfrica

Slideshare: Adelphi Consulting 

Send emails to: info@adelphionline.com, blog@adelphionline.com or call us on 234 817 694, 2839

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Welcome To Insights By Adelphi

 

It has been a long time coming but it is finally here.  Our blog we mean :)

Having worked within the intellectual property (IP) and business design space for close to a decade, we experienced firsthand how difficult it is to find practical and timely information on IP especially in Nigeria and even the rest of the continent. While we work with creative industry stakeholders on different projects, we have found the need for an IP and business design platform too great and the gap too wide.

Insights By Adelphi (Our blog) was set up to fully address these concerns and maximize the potential we know is inherent in our creative economy and related sectors. We intend for it to be a one-stop hub for IP and business design related information for Africa’s creative industry stakeholders, media, potential investors and even the academic community.  Below is a summary of what to expect on the blog every week: 

• On Mondays we will publish op-eds addressing a topical issue and share tips to guide your week.
• Every Tuesday we will publish a presentation on Slideshare. Presentations will be practical, easy to read and tailored to issues creative businesses grapple with. 
• We present 101 Series every Wednesday, our practical, how-to blogs targeted at industry rookies, enthusiasts and students. 
• Thursdays every fortnight, we will publish Meet The Experts, an interview with a creative industry expert discussing various issues and their recommendations for addressing them.
• Every weekend expect This Weekend, our blog post on events and activities happening over the weekend.
• Every weekday we will publish the latest jobs within Nigeria’s and Africa’s creative space.

If you have other ideas on content you will like to see on the blog, do not hesitate to reach us via: 

• Twitter: Adelphi_IP 
• Facebook: /AdelphiAfrica 
• Slideshare: AdelphiConsulting 
• Email: blog@adelphionline.com, info@adelphionline.com 
• Website: www.adelphionline.com

Welcome to the beginning of exciting things.

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