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00:00Good morning! How are we doing? I know it's been a long morning, so thanks for
00:04hanging with us and leave it to the creatives, the athletes, the entertainers,
00:08the musicians to close it with a bang. I know, I know that we may be in New York
00:14City, but we have Hollywood and Nollywood's finest on the stage with us
00:18today. And I can guarantee you, when we were kids, if we told our future selves
00:28what we were doing, I think our parents would be shook. You're like, what? No,
00:33doctor, lawyer, engineer, but it really shows you the potential of creative
00:37economies. And we start our conversation today, and I want to start with you,
00:40Jamal, because your accolades are just through the roof. I know most of you have
00:46seen him in Gladiator, Guardians of the Galaxy. I personally could not watch A
00:51Quiet Place, I can't do horror. But you always come back home. Why are you so
00:56passionate about African storytelling? Oh, wow. Africa's storytelling is
01:03everything. I mean, history is through the lens that we see into the future. And in
01:15order for Africa to have a voice, we necessarily need to be able to drive
01:21that content. Right? And so, my goal is to be able to tell my story in a way that I could
01:33also, where my neighborhood is relevant in the storytelling. And that's imperative. It's imperative
01:45for our development. It's imperative to own your story. Because otherwise, who is
01:52going to tell your story? Right? And so, I'm still in debating how do we bring about this
02:00universal instrument, which is distributing your content. And so, that is where I'm, you know, I'm
02:10championing the idea that we need to have a platform that can talk about us, show us, and in
02:22ways that would uplift the youth of tomorrow. And the good news is that the solution is on
02:30stage with us today. Mo, not just an extraordinary producer, a visionary, an entrepreneur, a mentor.
02:39She's also my big auntie, back home in Nigeria. And she identified a problem in entertainment and has
02:47provided solutions. Can you describe what those are?
02:49Chinni, good afternoon. To our audiences, good afternoon. It's wonderful to be here with you all.
02:55Any chance I get to talk about our creative economy, I always accept. And it was, I said
03:02I had to be at the Global Forum in 2025. And Maasai said, Mo, you've got to be here. And here
03:07I am. And, you know, for me, when I look at our creative economy on the continent, now, every
03:13society has its problems, right? Africa obviously has its own. But I think within those problems,
03:19those challenges lie also the opportunities. And it's for us to say, how do we take those
03:25challenges and how do we turn them into opportunities? So what are the key challenges in the creative
03:31economy? There's capacity building, right? There's funding, right? There's distribution,
03:36right? So those are some of the main challenges that we face. So rather than be a part of the
03:42problem. And rather than come to another event where all you do is talk about the problem,
03:48let's actually start to find practical ways through which we can address those challenges.
03:53So I got into this industry, I don't know, 20 years ago when I was turning 40. Everybody
03:58thought I was having a midlife crisis. But I realized that there was a gap in our storytelling.
04:05I realized that we weren't taking control of the narrative of telling our own stories. We
04:09have a responsibility to do so. Because if not, whatever stories are being told, we need
04:15to stop complaining and take more active steps. So what we have done over the years is we've
04:21set up Ebony Life Media. We've made some of the largest films that have gone to the Nigerian
04:26box office. We have been Netflix's largest partner on the continent. Although now we are
04:32launching our own streaming platform, by the way, because I think it's important that we
04:36not only just own the storytelling, but also the channels through which we tell the stories
04:42are also equally important, right? We are also working with the IFC and the AFDB on a film
04:48fund. Because again, one of the largest challenges we have faced is funding of African film, right?
04:54So the only way to resolve that issue is to go to those that can fund and say, how do we fund?
04:58Yes, it's been a couple of years of working with them. But, you know, DFIs take their time because
05:03they've got to, you know, dot all the I's and cross the T's. So with IFC and AFDB, we're looking
05:07at a film fund that can help African films to scale. Now, the other major challenge we also
05:11have is distribution. If you have all the money in the world and you can't distribute those
05:16films globally, you might as well never have made the film. So for the last few months, we've been
05:20working with Sony Pictures Releasing International. It's actually historic. We've just signed an
05:25agreement whereby they would distribute the films from the film fund, African films to the
05:31to a global market. Wait, that's huge. Please repeat. Please repeat. We've just signed a historic
05:37agreement with Sony Pictures International. Sony Pictures Releasing International whereby the films that come from the
05:49Afro Film Fund selected films will have global distribution. Now, our producers deserve the right to be celebrated, to be showcased, but also to monetize, right? Now, show business is a business, right? It is a trillion dollar industry in the United States.
06:06We have to say, how do we as Africans tap into that? By the year 2050, we're saying that one in four people in the world is an African, right? And we have the youngest youth population in the world. How do we start to empower our youth? One of the lowest
06:18hanging fruits is going to be our creative economy. If you look at what is happening in the world of Afrobeats, they have enabled themselves. You can imagine if the infrastructure was there, the types of activities and the things that we could do to continue to scale.
06:31So for us as Ebony Life, we're playing a role when it comes to capacity building. We're working with Lagos State Government on offering free training to up and coming filmmakers because the skills are critical. Funding is also key. We're working with the IFC and the AFDB on funding for a film fund.
06:46Distribution. We're launching a streaming platform. We have said to ourselves, let us do this for us. Now, we're not trying to be the next Netflix, no.
06:54But what we are trying to be is a platform that is built for Africans on our continent and Africans in the diaspora.
07:01Now, let me give you a quick example. If Netflix give me a dollar to make a movie and they give someone in America a hundred dollars to make a movie.
07:09If you go to Netflix, you can see the top ten films most watched. In Africa, what is more watched? The one dollar movie. Right?
07:15So we don't need a billion dollars to make this become a reality. You know, we know we get in the trenches and we know how to produce at cost effective prices.
07:25I must say we're not going to do quality. But we know that it's easier for us to build a platform with far less than it would cost for us to try and be the next Netflix.
07:34We want to be the next thing that we can be for Africa by ensuring that our stories travel, the narrative is told and that people around the world can actually have a taste of who we are.
07:45That's truly beautiful. And, you know, you highlight a couple of things that I think are important to come to mind.
07:51One, this idea of investments. I want to remind people that literally investments are living investments.
07:58You're typically investing in the person, not necessarily simply the business. And then secondly, the idea of markets.
08:05We talk about the youth and the potential. We're Nigerians here. 60% of our population under 30 years old.
08:13But there is an opportunity gap for them to realize their dreams. There's a crisis of confidence for them to see their dreams become reality.
08:21And you mentioned some of the grassroots elements or even infrastructure developments when it comes to entertainment.
08:28But I firmly believe that we have to support our own at the highest levels.
08:32And Jamon, you are someone who has had Oscar nominations. You have been at the peak of Hollywood.
08:38But one thing that I noticed recently was your vulnerability in explaining your honest experience of not truly feeling supported despite being the best at your craft.
08:48How do we fix that for the future?
08:52I think we have to embrace the youth and champion the youth to this is the fourth industrial revolution.
09:03And we are not creating digital content, digital media. And that is, you know, our biggest challenge.
09:13How do we elevate the spirit of the youth without content?
09:23And that's the greatest challenge here is to try to, you know, for our leaders to understand the importance of telling your story.
09:32Right? And it's been the most challenging thing for me to knock on people's door to trying to raise money.
09:42To literally tell your story or raise money to be able to distribute.
09:47And I'm thinking that, you know, kind of like Mo said, distribution.
09:52Yes, we've been talking about it, but distribution is absolutely vital for our survival.
09:59So if you don't have that instrument, that universal instrument to tell your story, you pretty much cease to exist.
10:06And you mentioned the story. And I started off talking about our childhood selves, our origin story.
10:13Because I still believe in some ways, despite what the WNBA is doing right now, owning the main topic and the main narrative, I believe that people sometimes don't look at sports or music or entertainment or fashion as a serious business.
10:28But I was fortunate to sit with Masai at dinner yesterday and he mentioned the late great Dikembe Mutombo.
10:35And when I was thinking about those two giants of Africa, the first word that comes to mind is he's a multiplier.
10:41Just by his passion, he's multiplying opportunity.
10:45Africa is the only place, one of the few places where you can get multiples of your investment because it's just now beginning in a way that we're finally being seen.
10:54And so I go back to you, Mo. You have created content at the highest levels.
11:00You are creating a platform that is servicing us.
11:05What is the case for people to understand that the creative economy is serious business and not a sideshow?
11:13It's to look at the numbers. We've done the numbers.
11:16I'm happy to engage with any strategic partners that want more information on the numbers.
11:21But just look at the numbers on the continent. I mean, look at the numbers of people in Nigeria.
11:25And I think it's also making sure that we look to see what has been done before by our predecessors and by everyone else that's come into our economy.
11:35And say, what do we take away as the lessons learnt?
11:38And some of the key points are the cost of data. And we're talking about distribution now, right? Cost of data.
11:43You've got to find ways in which you can deliver content at an affordable cost.
11:47You've also got to deliver the actual package in terms of the platform also at a reasonable cost.
11:54You've also got to give them the types of stories that they want to watch.
11:58It is a numbers game.
12:00You know, if you look at what's happened with the telcos in Nigeria, I know that many years ago somebody sent another company into Nigeria to do some research on how many subscribers do they think they will get if they launched a telco.
12:12And the guy said, forget it, nothing's going to happen because they don't, you know, they're poor. Their GDP is this, that and the other.
12:18I think he got fired in the end because MTN came in and then Airtel and all the others.
12:22And we've seen the average Nigerian has three phones.
12:25They literally have an MTN line, an Airtel line and a Glow line, right?
12:31And they service those phones with data. We love storytelling. We are a community of storytellers.
12:37So you have an audience sitting right there. I think keep it affordable, keep it interesting, keep it fun.
12:45Marketing is extremely important and I think we are going to win.
12:49We're going to win with our stories on the continent and with our stories going viral around the world.
12:55We've done it with music and we can definitely do it with film and we're definitely doing it with fashion.
13:00So I think all the key ingredients for success are there. We just need the us's, you know, to think and say, how do we execute?
13:10How do we deliver? You know, and we've got to remember that as a continent, people expect the worst of us.
13:17We've got to ensure that they see the best of us and putting our best foot forward and ensuring that whatever we do, the stories are told in a way and manner.
13:29I call it sexy, but in the right way, you know, that it's sleek. It's clean. The production values are there.
13:37And I keep saying that as a continent, we have been quiet for the longest time. How many of our stories have been told? Hardly any.
13:44So there's there are tons. There's a treasure trove of stories that we can take to the globe and they're going to be fascinating.
13:51And what I love about your generation, you guys don't care where the story comes from.
13:55Just give me a good story and you guys are good. Give me good fashion and you're good. Give me good music and you're good.
14:02And you know what? We have tons of that on the continent. And this is really our moment to shine.
14:08And it's important for us to go out there and share that culture, that authenticity with the world.
14:15Completely agree. And now she's speaking my language because she talked about winning the game.
14:19And I'm like, yes.
14:20Before we close, in basketball, I always bring things back to hoops because obviously in basketball, we have this concept about shooting your shot.
14:31And I always love a call to action because if we're here, we should collaborate and people should know how to directly support you.
14:37So Jamon, shoot your shot and tell people how they can support you in your endeavors in the future.
14:42Oh, we got to hold the file through, but sorry.
14:46You know, Mo has said so much and obviously has done so much. But at the end of the day, I think I'm only I'm really championing for Africa to have its own distribution platform.
15:00You know, and there to collaborate with the international other international platform because there's like you said, there's so many stories in some of those stories, you know, may make the West a little shy because of course we have stories of colonization.
15:21We have stories of, you know, we have stories of, you know, where Africa, you know, just recently got liberated, you know, and when you have sort of like Kwame Nkuma, who was the first president to openly champion the idea of Pan-Africanism.
15:44Africanism. Right. Had said for Africa to be liberated, we necessarily need to be able to tell our stories.
15:55And that's where we are. And so with that distribution platform, like Mo said, if you.
16:02You can have all the money in the world and go and produce your film at the end of the day, you need that platform to be able to distribute comfortably without, you know, anybody telling you, you know, sort of like, you know, limiting you.
16:22Right. So we're trying to get away from that limitations.
16:27Well, to quote a legend, Nelson Mandela said, it always seems impossible until it is done.
16:32Right. So we have a responsibility to do it.
16:36To do it. And my taking is taking a shot is that we're building the platforms.
16:43We're telling the stories.
16:45Anyone here that feels that they want to come on that journey with us, whereby we can together really and truly take our stories to a global space that we can be proud of.
16:56So that when you are seen as an African and someone says, what is the what do you think of Africa, it will be words of joy and gladness and and success.
17:06And, you know, because this is us. We're very aspirational as a people.
17:11So if so, my call to action is please reach out if you want to be a part of the journey, because we're here and we are on the journey already. Thank you.
17:20And my final call to action is to definitely support our young women and girls.
17:31Last year, Masai, his team, my uncle here, inspired me to launch my own foundation, Queens of the Continent, a lot similar to Giants of Africa, but on a girl scale to start.
17:42But we just had our first camp and clinic that really centered around leadership and opportunity.
17:47Being Nigerian, you learn these staggering numbers every room I go into.
17:51I tell people this every year, a girl advances in school.
17:54She increases her earning potential in Nigeria by 10 percent.
17:58If you want to change the world, you invest in girls.
18:00Did you know that women and young girls invest back into their families 90 percent of what they make compared to the man who only do 35 percent?
18:09All right.
18:10But the truth is, is that if you want to change the future, you invest in those who actually birth the future.
18:16Absolutely.
18:17And create opportunities through education.
18:19Yes.
18:20Sport became a platform for me to get to the highest of highs.
18:23And I'm so grateful for that because I had parents that are, my dad's a girl dad, my mom's an amazing educator, that understand the value and the power and the potential of girls.
18:31And you mentioned the Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah.
18:35This has been a sensational day.
18:37And he said that I am African not because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me.
18:43Hopefully today, Africa was born in you as we celebrate the power and potential and the promise of the future that has arrived today.
18:51Absolutely.
18:52So thank you.
18:53Thank you so much.
18:54Thank you so much.
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