Successful 4th British Council Creative Expo Concludes: Stakeholders Agree Framework For Greater Collaboration And Pitching Contest Showcases Entrepreneurial Talent

Another well-attended and thought-provoking edition of the British Council Creative Industries Expo wrapped up this year on December 8th and 9th at Westown Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. The 2014 British Council Creative Expo featured a roster of top-level speakers and moderators from Nigeria, UK and South Africa including Ojoma Ochai, Director, Arts, British Council; Emma Clarence, National Endowment for Science Technology & the Arts, UK; Paul Nwulu, Ford Foundation; Oliver Marlow, Studio TILT, UK; Chris Ihidero, CEO PinPoint Media; Chike Maduegbuna, CEO Afrinolly; Leslie Donna Williams, Founder of Impact Hub, South Africa; Femi Longe, Co-Founder, CCHub; Marc-Andre Schmactel, Director, Goethe Institute; Seyi Taylor, Co-Founder Tech Cabal; Nkiru Asika, CEO, Enterprise Creative; Kenya; Andrea Burns, ROCO UK.
The speakers shared their experiences, expertise, vision and strategies for building collaborative work practices and gave examples of the diverse forms of collaboration taking place both in Nigeria and around the world. The lively and highly participatory audience of also shared their experiences and thoughts on collaboration, and there was much discussion around the issues of trust, values, having clear parameters or agreements and the need to develop a mindset that is open to collaboration. Interspersed with the presentations, four young entrepreneurs gave short testimonials tagged #MyCollaborationStory, telling how collaboration had helped each of them grow in business as and as individuals. A group of hub-owners also held a moderated action-planning session to identify and take decisions on the key steps needed to develop more collaborative working within the creative sector. This action plan will be available on the British Council website in due course.
One of the highlights of the Expo was the Entrepreneurs Pitching Contest which featured 8 shortlisted entrepreneurs pitching to the audience and evaluated by a panel of three Judges – Leslie Donna Williams of Impact Hub, South Africa; Tola Akerele of Bogobiri House and iDesign and Olufunbi Falayi, co-Founder of Passion Incubator. All the finalists delivered interesting and impressive pitches, but in the end, the two runners-up were David Ugoagbara of Priceleakers.com, an online marketplace for building materials, Ayodele Elegba of Comic Panel, an online hub for comics and related industries and the winner was Sulaiman Teslim Olalekan of Shopinfo.com.ng, a mobile application that helps shoppers source goods in local shops, check stock availability and compare prices. The top 3 will enjoy a package of deskspace, advisory services, mentoring and incubation from the Enterprise Creative HotHouse, Passion Incubator, Wennovation Hub and IDEA Hub. They will also receive seed funding (N300,000 to Shopinfo.com.ng and N100,000 to the two runners-up) courtesy of CBO Capital, a Lagos-based financial advisory firm.

We are pleased to have encouraged entrepreneurial activity through the Creative Industries Expo. The creative industry is exciting and important for a number of reasons particularly because it provides a viable alternative for income generation for Nigeria’s youth and also affords opportunities for collaborative initiatives across sectors of digital technology, visual arts, commerce and more, said Bex Nwawudu – Executive Director, CBO Capital.”
“Ore Disu, Director, Nsibidi Institute noted at the event, “It was truly a noteworthy event marked by many passionate entrepreneurs proposing solutions to real problems and gaps in Nigeria and Africa at large. The energy in the room was palpable and will hopefully carry on beyond the event. Collaboration is key particularly in the current climate we are in – whether it comes in the form of a hub or simply the diverse exchanges that happen as people move beyond the confines of a singular project, skill-set or business focus. Yes there are issues of trust, ownership and more, but if managed well, the trade-offs far outweigh the risks.”