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Unlocking the Capital in Nigeria’s Creative Industry: Banwo & Ighodalo Hosts A-List Celebs

The spanking new office building of the commercial law firm of Banwo & Ighodalo in Ikoyi, Lagos was the setting for an equally glittering assemblage of stars of the screen and the stage, as well as leading lights in Nigeria’s music and visual art scenes.  They were joined by both backstage and backend players, moneymen and women representing a diversity of the nation’s financial institutions, as well as regulators.

Hosted by the popular on-air personality, Koye Kekere-Ekun, the evening, held under the theme, ‘UNLOCKING THE CAPITAL IN NIGERIA’S CREATIVE INDUSTRY’, was at the instance of the Media and Entertainment Practice Group of Banwo & Ighodalo, a firm which, since its inception in 1991, has carved an enviable niche for itself in the provision of innovative, competent, cost-effective and timely legal solutions.  Consistently ranked as a leading Nigerian and international law firm in the areas of capital markets, securities, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and restructuring, project finance, foreign investments and divestment, shipping, aviation and international trade, energy and natural resources, commercial litigation, and intellectual property.

B&I, as it is more commonly known, is listed in some of the world’s leading legal and commercial directories, publications and journals. The firm’s media and entertainment practice group is dedicated to the protection of  its clients’ intellectual property rights and interests, according to extant local and international copyright laws, as well as advising them on raising equity and financing projects. B&I has, over the years, represented some of the largest media and entertainment companies in Nigeria and beyond.

The evening, which opened with welcome remarks by Kenneth Etim, a Partner at B&I, was an informal one, as attendees mingled and networked against the backdrop of music by the saxophonist DJ Sax. They paused, however, to view a video presentation on the profile of B&I, its media and entertainment practice group, and its motivations for a gathering of this nature, aimed as it is on consolidating an already robust partnership with the country’s creative minds. The video featured interviews with the company’s co-founders, Femi Olubanwo and Asue Ighodalo, as well as Partners, Senior Counsels and Associates.

The rest of the evening was a purely interactive one, as players on all sides of the industry spectrum – artistes like TA (the comedian); Banky W (the singer/actor); Kelechi Amadi-Obi (the ace photographer); as well as Mr. Femi Olubanwo of B&I; Mr. Babatunde Obaniyi of United Capital, the project financing and lending arm of UBA Plc – Africa’s Global Bank – and Ms. Bola Atta, the former magazine publisher-turned-banker – all harped on the need for a better structuring of the industry, not just in terms of individual contracts between artists and institutions like studios or record labels, etc., but in terms of building a system that is sustainable in the long term.

On his part, the director-general of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) lamented the disconnect between his agency and creative practitioners in the country – especially in the fight – or, more specifically, the lack of a united front – against rampant piracy and other copyright infringements – and made a number of commitments going forward.

In view of this, he called for cooperation from all stakeholders in the bid to make an industry whose revenues have hit the $5bn mark in recent years, with multiplier effects on employment and the country’s overall revenue base, even more successful in the short, medium and long term.

The evening ended on that note, as attended sampled the delicacies on offer and continued networking as Bee-Jay Sax took the evening to its home stretch.

See photos below:

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