Anambra Creative Economy Consultative Value Chain Mapping kicks off In Awka
By Ifeyinwa Ogwo
Anambra State Creative Economy Consultative Value Chain Mapping workshop which is aimed at capturing the diverse and dynamic landscape of creative Innovation activities in the state and also serves as a tracker and valuable resource for policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs looking to engage with and support the growth of the creative industries was held in Awka, on Thursday, 13th June, 2024.
The two-day workshop which was organized by the Technology for Social Change and Development (Tech4Dev) in partnership with the Anambra State Government, the UK International Development, and the Nigeria Creative Ecosystem Growth and Innovation Initiatives witnessed participants from the public and private sectors in attendance to the innovative interactive session to brainstorm on putting Anambra’s creative potentials and Investment opportunities on the global ecosystem mapping.
Speaking at the workshop, the Commissioner for Culture, Entertainment and Tourism, Mr Don Onyenji lauded the Tech4Dev team and their partners for picking Anambra State from the Southeast geopolitical zone alongside other states that were picked from the various geopolitical zones for the innovative workshop.
He stated that Anambra has so many sectors in the creative industry and the mapping of these sectors will help the state to attend to each of the sectors intentionally to fully tap into the potentials of the sector and intervene in the tense of solving challenges where they are needed on the part of the government.
“Today, we have established a background on what we think the government should do to ensure that the creative sector in Anambra State across the board is mapped out and from our session with the private sectors and practitioners, we will bring out resolutions for strategic implementation.
“After these workshops, there will be follow-ups and we are going to continue to partner until we achieve our aims. Currently, we are embarking on the training of a set of organic artists that are going to grow the creative landscape, and the Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, has approved the establishment of ANAWOOD which is a melting point for practitioners, filmmakers, and even beyond to serve our people, energize and encourage them to grow the industry,” he said.
He commended the governor for the tremendous work going on in the state and he then called on every content creator, comedian and others to promote the core values of the state and not de-market it.
On his part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Entertainment, Leisure and Tourism, Sir Bob-Manuel Udokwu, a participant, expressed that the programme was impactful, innovative and important because it will help in the collection and displaying of relevant realistic data about the creative industry of the state and its potentials.
“This will attract more investors into the state and also help the Solution Government in strategizing and actualizing its vision for the state.”
Earlier in his speech, the Senior Research and Policy Manager of Tech4Dev, Mr. Immanuel Ovemeso Umukoro stated that Tech4Dev is a nonprofit social enterprise established in 2016, to create access to decent work and entrepreneurship opportunities for Africans through digital skills empowerment and advocacy.
He stated that Anambra has been a hub for creative activities for years in Nigeria and most of the notable creative personalities in the likes of Pete Edochie, Obi Okoye, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Chimamanda Adichie, Flavour, among others are from Anambra State.
“With what I saw today, Anambra State is ready to partner with the private sector, ready to receive more investment and strengthen the creative sector so that more can be achieved. Therefore, the business of government in this aspect is to create an enabling environment and that is where good policies come in.
“Government should also role out programmes at different intervals such as capacity building, infrastructures, some of which the private sectors will be part of and we want to work together to identify and remove bottlenecks that will prevent investors from coming into the state,” he said.
In her keynote lecture, the Research and Policy Lead of Tech4Dev, Victoria Oletu gave an overview of the concepts and aspects of the project, stating that research is aimed at mapping the creative economy’s key value chain actors, enablers, and movers as a necessary first step towards unlocking the creative sector for economic growth.
According to her, “the study will look into building evidence based on the skills and talents required to unlock the opportunities in the creative innovation ecosystem, access the impact of policy and regulations on the growth of the creative innovation ecosystem, and understand the infrastructure gap across selected industries of the creative innovation ecosystem.
“It will also identify partnerships and investment opportunities needed to support the growth and development of the ecosystem and understand the configuration of the value chains across the selected industries,” she added.
She further hinted that the research will explore industries such as music, films and videos, fashion, and content creation by examining what is on the ground in those industries in the state as regards its practice, potential, policies, and prospects.
Participants in the workshop were the representatives of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth Development, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Solution Innovative District, Anambra State ICT Agency, CEO of Alkebulan Production (Film Village), Mrs. Chinyere Ozo-Okonmah.
Others were; Mr. Marcel Manafa, a Consultant, Music Practitioner, filmmaking Practitioner, Fashion Designers, Content Creator Practitioner, and the principal officers of the Ministry of Culture, Entertainment and Tourism, who were the principal actors.
Ogwo is of the Ministry of Information, Anambra State *
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