New Markets Investor

Q3 2015The boomingentertainment sectorThe continents film andentertainment sector employsmillions with potential for millions moreThe decolonization period in Africamarked huge growth in the African filmindustry. Individuals such as FrançoisMitterrand led efforts that encouragedfilmmakers and producers to integratecultural, political and economic developmentof the continent into African filmproduction.Due to the fact that the majority of filmsmade before the countries´ decolonizationwere racially charged, the mostprominent directors that came out ofthe 1980s were those who used film asa political instrument to correct thestereotypes that the West had depictedabout Africa and its people. This includesdirectors such as Ousmane Sembene andOumarou Ganda whose list of moviesinclude “Black Girl”, “Mandabi”, “Xala”,“Moi, un noir”, “Cabascabo” and manymore .Examples of booming Film Industries inAfrica today include Nigeria and SouthAfrica, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Algeria,Morocco and Somalia. Various actorsfrom these countries have also gainedinternational fame. This includes “Monster”actress, Charlize Theron from SouthAfrica, “Maleficent” actor Sharlto Copley,“Captain Phillips” actor, Barkhad Abdifrom Somalia, “12 Years A Slave” actorsChiwetel Ejiofor a Briton of Nigeriandescent and his co-star, Lupita Nyong’ofrom Kenya and so many more.In spite of the successes, the Africancinema industry lacks support and investment,which is much needed in orderto support the industry in all its spinoffs,including film festivals. These festivalsand events alike act as awareness-raisingmechanisms. They also foster an increasein distribution of films which will permitthe African film industry to attract a lotmore genuine interest from the internationalfilm going and investing community.In many African countries, the mediaand entertainment industries are expectedto grow at 5% GDP per capita year onyear. Investments in the film industry ofAfrica have the potential to help Africancountries attain sustainable development.Nigeria’s estimated annual revenue fromits film industry is $590 million USD. Anaverage of 50 films is released by Nigeriaon a weekly basis.Africa’s music industry is also flourishing.MTV’s first Africa Music Awardsin 2008 was a major discovery momentfor the world, with stellar performancesfeaturing nominees from Nairobi,Johannesburg, Lagos, and Kinshasa. Thecontinent is home to global musical starslike Salif Keïta from Mali, Hugh Masekela,Dave Matthews and Lucky Dubefrom South Africa, D’banj from Nigeria,Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi from Zimbabwe,Senegalese singer Akon, K’naan, aSomali Canadian, famous choral groupLadysmith Black Mambazo from SouthAfrica and so many more. However, dueto rampant piracy and the lack of formaltracking establishments, it is hard tocalculate how much the music industry isworth on the continent. That being said,informal statistics from Nigeria’s musicmarket generated revenues of R421 milNew Markets Investor82lion (US$51.3 million) in 2012, up fromthe 2008 revenue of R369 million (US$45million). Annual revenue is forecast togrow by a CAGR of 0.9% to reach R441million (US$53.8 million) in 2017.Digital’s share of total spending onrecorded music in Nigeria will rise to anestimated 66.6% by 2017, up from 49.0%