Indian bank to invest in Nollywood

   Representatives of the Export-Import Bank of India(EXIM Bank) and Nigerian Export-Import Bank(NEXIM Bank), last week, seemed to tow the same line when they met with key players in the movie industry in Lagos.
    The move followed World Bank’s plan to spend $US30 million on the film and music industry in Nigeria.
    At the forum which held at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, and attended by major stakeholders in the industry, the 5-man delegation from India’s EXIM bank, led by its General Manager, J. Samuel Joseph, made a passionate appeal to Nollywood practitioners to adopt the “Bollywood experience”.
        If the industry must truly attain a global reckoning in future, we must chart a new direction for the industry” he said.

In the very detailed presentation, Mr. Joseph admitted that before now, Bollywood used to experience similar constraints that have become the bane of Nollywood until the intervention of the state-run-export finance institution, which according to him, kept aside a fund to the tune of Rs 300 crore to finance exportable Bollywood films.

   According to him, while Nollywood is dominated by the DVD and home video market, Bollywood stakes its claim in the celluloid market.

     He advocated the need for the restructuring of the industry, blaming its undergrowth however on “lack of resource centres for gathering of data on the industry, piracy, low quality production, non-existence of viable exhibition and distribution network.

    He stated that the bank is poised to provide dependable channels for distributors to strengthen the industry, tackle the problem associated with piracy; with emphasis on the common business benefits and also the establishment of cinema houses across the country.

     However, throwing more light on the collaborative venture, Mr Hope Yongo, Technical Adviser to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export-Import Bank, told the gathering that the delegation had already met with the relevant regulatory authorities namely Nigerian Insurance Coorperation, Nigerian Insurance Association, and the Central Bank, which according to him, rolled out guidelines and potential regulation on the issue of lending that is fashioned after the Indian module.

     “That’s why we decided that you should meet with the Exim bank so that the Central Bank will appreciate at the end of the day, whatever challenges you face in the industry.” he added.

     Earlier in his address, the President of Association of Movie Producers,AMP, Paul Obazele, described the intervention as “a blessing in disguise.”

     He appealed to his colleagues to rise to the occasion by embracing the new understanding to move the industry forward.

Culled from vanguard