Obagbemi: How Facebook Recognises, Supports Creative Talents

The West African region has one of the most burgeoning and exciting creative industries in the world. Led by Nigeria and Ghana, these creatives have been able to harness the power of social media platforms to share their craft, tell their stories, express themselves, build communities and livelihoods, connect with like-minded people and reach a truly global audience. The ongoing Facebook Creators campaign which features eight creative artists from Nigeria and Ghana, has been an interesting exposé into the life of some of the creatives, with them sharing insights into their creative process, and how social media has provided the platform to positively impact their audiences. In this interview, Facebook’s Corporate Communications Manager for Anglophone West Africa, Oluwasola Obagbemi, shares how the organisation is inspiring millions of creatives with opportunities. Hamid Ayodeji brings the excerpts:

Why is Facebook launching the Creators Campaign?

The Facebook Creators campaign is designed to highlight the inspiring stories of leading content creators who have succeeded in various creative industries using the Facebook family of Apps to inspire other creative artists and connect with communities. The campaign spotlights eight creative artists in Nigeria and Ghana who have built, communicated, and scaled their art and craft to the world using Facebook and Instagram. These artists represent several creative industries ranging from photography, comedy, fashion, dance and content creation.

What does Facebook intend to achieve by spotlighting these eight artists from Nigeria and Ghana?

One of Facebook’s key roles across the continent is supporting and investing in young and diverse creative talent. Through this campaign, we hope to demonstrate Facebook’s commitment to providing a platform where Africans, particularly the youth can be recognised and encouraged to aim even higher. We are committed to helping African youth realise their full potential to inspire them to impact their communities better. With the abundance of creative talents coming out from the region and the growing demand for African creative artists’ footprint on the global stage, we understand that this is the time for African Creatives to share their craft, express themselves, build communities and livelihoods, connect with like-minds, and more. The Facebook Creators campaign gives credibility to and amplifies the incredible talents and works coming out from the burgeoning creative industry in Nigeria and Ghana. It is part of Facebook’s efforts to boost the burgeoning creative industry in West Africa, while inspiring millions of creative minds with the endless opportunities that the Facebook family of Apps provides for their talents across Africa. As of today, Facebook’s family of apps have become not just a platform for their crafts to reside in, but also gives them an opportunity to tell their story as it is to the world. Through the Facebook family of Apps, African creatives can continue to express themselves, tell their stories, monetise their crafts, and pursue their goals. We are excited about the Facebook Creators campaign that offers content creators unique opportunities to communicate their craft and tell their stories.

What are the recurring themes in the stories of the featured creative artists?

These ‘creators’ are selected from several industries in Nigeria and Ghana. They all share the common values of hard work, perseverance, consistency, originality, how they’ve remained relevant, how social media has been instrumental to their growth, and some key lessons for aspiring content creators. They all have inspiring and true stories which are very relevant in today’s society and for young people.

Who are these eight creative artists from Nigeria and Ghana?

One of the content creators spotlighted in this campaign is Emmanuel Oyeleke, the talented Nigerian photographer who mastered the art of creating breath-taking posed imagery after quitting his job as a computer programmer. The campaign also features Laud Anoo Konadu, popularly known as Dancegod Lloyd. Known for co-founding the Dance with a Purpose Academy and the Rocc Starss Dance Academy, the Ghanaian dance sensation and choreographer regularly shares videos of his dance routines on Instagram with his over 1.1 million followers. Other creative artists featured in the campaign include FocusnBlur (Ghanaian Photographer) who was awarded Ghana’s Best Event Photographer in 2019 and 2020; Funke Adepoju (Nigerian Fashion Designer) who is best known for her premium bespoke ready-to-wear collections; and Kaffy Shafau-Ameh (Nigerian Dancer) who is popularly known for breaking the Guinness World Record for ‘Longest Dance Party’ at the Nokia Silverbird Danceathon in 2006. Also featured in the campaign are Apaokagi Mariam – popularly known as Taaooma (Nigerian Comedian), who plays multiple roles in her comedy skits, hilariously spotlighting how African mothers discipline their children; and Claudia Lumor (Ghanaian Entrepreneur) who is widely known as the founder of Kollage Media, producers of Glitz Africa Magazine, and also the Ghana Tourism Ambassador for Fashion Development and Dream Catchers Academy (Nigerian Content Creators) who are best known for offering educational opportunities, leadership skills, and a better life for underprivileged girls through dance, drama, music, and visual arts.

How can we access these stories told by the creative artists?
All the videos of the featured creative artists are on Facebook Africa page. We also partnered with Pulse Africa to showcase the docu-series on their platforms in Nigeria and Ghana. You can also follow the conversations online using the hashtag #FacebookCreators. All the featured creators also have their videos on their pages, you may follow them to see their video teasers and full videos.

Where and how long will the campaign run?

The inspirational stories will run as a short documentary series on the Facebook Africa Page as well as on Pulse Africa platforms. The campaign started in April and will run till May 2021 for five weeks.

Do you have any partners for this campaign?

Yes we do, our partner is Pulse Africa. We selected them because just like ourselves, they are very passionate about providing a forum where some of Africa’s greatest untold stories can see the light. Facebook is about meaningful partnerships that have greater impact in the lives of the people and partnerships like these are for the greater good. We will continue to seek like-minded partners as we continue to tell stories of Africans leveraging Facebook to communicate their craft to the world.