The Financial Institutions Training Centre has called for collaboration between the film industry and financial institutions to stimulate funding for economic growth.
She said despite the huge potential in the Nollywood industry, the sector remained underfunded, a challenge that can be fixed with partnerships with key stakeholders in the economy. She said the industry frequently encounters funding challenges forcing some filmmakers to seek external support and assistance which is usually a herculean task considering the stringent requirements for accessing such facility.
Although Nollywood currently produces more than 2,000 movies and TV series each year, most of them in Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and English, all of which are the most widely spoken languages in Nigeria, the returns on investment are still far below that of Hollywood and Bollywood. On the way forward, Malize remarked that financial institutions should learn to include the film industry in their yearly budgeting plans, join hands to manage upcoming talents, invest in film schools and never forget to be creative in an era that can offer unimaginable art.
“In the nearest future, we seek to find the Nigerian film industry going beyond world class, attracting more investors from the private sectors and foreign businesses in the film production and distribution and ultimately, increasing the number and quality of cinema products and services in Nigeria,” she said.
According to her, professionals from the financial sector and the media were invited to see how both sectors can collaborate with Nollywood to identify new windows of openings and innovation to help develop the industry beyond where it is.