Kene Mkparu, Managing Director, Film One Distribution, has commended the technology investors from overseas and Nollywood for engaging in “geek meet nollywood”, aimed to network and explore greater connections between both ecosystems.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event which took place at Film-House, Lekki, Lagos, brought Silicon Valley technology investors, who are currently transforming the global film industry together with Nollywood’s finest creative and way-makers.
The geeks were hosted in a series of curated events to celebrate Nigeria’s entrepreneurial talent, highlight disruptive technologies and showcase investment opportunities.
“We need to understand the aim of why these Silicon Valley investors are coming; they are investors, primarily investors.
“They are Venture Capital Company, they are people that look out for great ideas, and then put money behind the great ideas.
“So, it’s a great thing that they’ve come to Africa, come to Nigeria to look at opportunities in Nollywood and look at opportunities in the entire Nigeria film Industry.
“It’s up to us to show them the opportunities, and then they can bring their money,” said Mkparu.
He added: “We shouldn’t be saying to them, come and help us to solve our problem. No, we should be saying, here is our idea to solve our problem.
“I have the idea, I don’t have a lot of capital, then they will put capital and we will work together in partnership and make things happen; that is my excitement about what is happening here”.
Popular Actor, Uti Nwachukwu, also lauded the international E-Commerce sector for coming to develop and invest in the entertainment sector, especially Nollywood.
“I’m already a professional actor, but I will be sponsored to fine tune my skills overseas to make sure I come out at the top with regards to my acting skills.
“It is an amazing experience; you would think you know a lot of thinks but when you go to some of the people that started this business, you will be amazed.
“I have a lot to learn, it is mind blowing, it is a rich experience for me, and it is one I’m not going to forget in a hurry,” he said.
Nwachukwu said that he learnt everything about character interpretation, execution, understanding one’s scene, how to react to everything that is on your script.
He added that he also learnt that every word meant something and about movie making in general.
“The African region is definitely of interest to 500 Startups as we continue to look for and source deals from traditionally underrepresented ecosystems.
“While we invest 70 per cent in the U.S., 30 per cent of our deals are spread across 60 different countries currently.
“Through Geeks on a Plane we are looking to build stronger relationships with investors on the ground, maybe even find a few startups to invest in and have a lot of fun with local nerds,’’ said Dave McClure, Founding Partner at 500 Startups.
Another Investor, Maya Horgan-Famodu, founder of “Ingressive” also said: “We are excited to host in Nigeria.
“We hope to facilitate these relationships further and showcase high quality Nigerian startups to international tech experts and investors.
“Trips like these open doors and change businesses in ecosystems,” she said.
NAN reports that from Lagos, the Geeks will travel to Accra, Ghana, where they will meet with business leaders, attend conferences, visit co-working spaces and share venture creation ideas with key ecosystem leaders and investors.
And the tour will also move on to South Africa where they will interact with innovation actors in Johannesburg and Capetown who have blazed the trail and led entrepreneurial activities in Southern Africa.
