Upending the Media, Creative Industry to Boost Innovation 

For decades, the media and creative industries have been the exclusive preserve of legacy institutions and moguls. Still, SBI Media Workshop, founded by Rotimi Bankole, has, for the last three years, sought to upend the system by providing free industry training that could help young Nigerians succeed in the industry. Writes Mary Nnah

In a world of ever-evolving changes and innovations heralded by digital technology, businesses and entrepreneurs face intense pressure to remain relevant and thrive. Democratisation, ease of entry, and scalable opportunities are a few benefits that digital technology has brought to one sector in particular.

It is on these distinct advantages that SBI Media Workshop has been building its mission.

As the third edition of the  SBI Media Workshop was concluded in Lagos on December 3, 2022, the initiator of the Media Workshop, Rotimi Bankole, expressed optimism that the workshop is “now several steps closer to its original goal.”

He said, “The key differentiator for SBI Media Workshop has always been as a credible transfer of skills to young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 35. We didn’t intend to stage a series of events where people would only talk and move on; we wanted to empower young Nigerians with real, monetizable skills, particularly in one of the fastest-growing industries in Nigeria, and one we are institutionally familiar with — media. If you looked around, you would confirm that there is indeed no other programme like SBI Media Workshop.”

With up to 23 million unemployed people in Nigeria, according to a report in 2022 by Jobberman in collaboration with Young Africa Works and Mastercard Foundation, and pay growth still failing to keep up with the soaring inflation, SBI Media Workshop’s effort appears as timely as it is crucial.

Compounding this problem is a very clear digital skills gap, and it has been identified that the lack of digital skills is hindering many young people from identifying and engaging in opportunities that will be beneficial to them.

For any sector looking to bolster employment and economic opportunities, the first step is to ensure that there are training, support and opportunities to offer the most attractive careers and enabling environment for large and small businesses to thrive.

Bankole’s SBI Media Workshop adopts the model where it connects participants with experts who engage, teach and mentor, but also provides support and opportunities by way of grants, funding, technology, strategic positioning and growth network to the participants.

“SBI Media Workshop is completely designed to create more media entrepreneurs. When the market grows, especially by injecting as many innovative ideas as possible into it, it is to the benefit of everyone,” Bankole said.

Data released by the Workshop team show that so far, nearly 1,000 people have attended the events in person and over 1 million have either participated online or seen clips from the sessions. Nearly 30 people have also received grants to help kick-start their media enterprises since 2020; and key industry supporters in such as Sony, Turkish Airlines, Green Africa, Radisson Hotels, Binance, and Showmax have also become partners. The “overarching objective of SMW is to become the catalyst for economic empowerment of more than two million young Nigerians in the next five years,” noted Bankole. “We’re getting quite close to that target.”

Part of what has made SBI Media Workshop noteworthy is the cadre of facilitators it offers every year. The organisers have said before one could be a facilitator at SBI Media Workshop, one must be an active and accomplished practitioner in the field of media, tech, or a combination of both. “We only want to share cutting-edge thinking and methods with SBI Media Workshop participants, hence, we must be rigorous in our search for the kinds of imaginative and articulate experts who can join us in delivering exceptional value to the participants,” Bankole stressed.

He added that sophisticated concepts, trends and opportunities must be explained in clear terms to the audience, most of whom are hearing them for the first time. “Messages must stand out. Quotes must sparkle. Statistics must tell a big-picture story. Our workshop goes deep into developing and delivering truly engaging and memorable experiences for the participants. It helps them to adopt the skills passed on by the facilitators who are always carefully selected from top levels of their various fields,” said Bankole.

So far, SBI Media Workshop has had facilitators such as the award-winning filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, top tech YouTuber Fisayo Fosudo, one of the best-known social media video directors Edem Victor, music video director Unlimited LA, Boomplay General Manager Dele Kadiri, and executive committee member of Nigerian Bar Association, Tolulope Aderemi.

Others who have spoken at SMW include Opeyemi Awoyemi, cofounder of Fast Forward Venture Studio, the job listing site Jobberman, and native Nigerian WebHost company Whogohost; Nsikan Benjamin, a senior executive at Binance West Africa; Emmanuel Ebanehita, a top executive at Binance Africa; Chris Ani, CEO, Digital Abundance Holdings Limited; and Ugochukwu Obi, partner at Perchstone & Graeys.

While striving to provide this high quality of experience to participants is admirable, it can also be costly and time-consuming. It requires additional resources and effort to ensure that every touchpoint is smooth and seamless for participants. This can include creating detailed programs and modules, updating the application process to make it more user-friendly and accessible to a vast number of people, providing thorough onboarding materials and training, and offering ongoing support and development opportunities beyond the workshop.

While it may require a significant investment of time and resources to put together, Bankole affirms that the investment is worth the returns in the long run.

“As SBI Media Workshop trains more entrepreneurs, it also helps to create more value for the market. Some of this value may, for instance, attract foreign investments or earn payments in foreign currencies. This is just one way, and I believe the value that SBI Media Workshop delivers will compound over time”, Bankole noted further.