Discop gets ready for Lagos

Discop plans to follow next year’s market at Abidjan in Ivory Coast, where the first edition of the knowledge-transfer and matchmaking programme Discore will be held, with a launch in Lagos in 2019, reports Abraham Osemwenkhae.

The event’s organisers are looking to focus on the booming industry in Nigeria, the world’s fastest-growing entertainment market over the next five years, as predicted by PricewaterhouseCoopers recently.

Discop Lagos will have its own personality, format and agenda. Cross-cultural bridges will be built between this new market and the ones in Abidjan, Dubai and Johannesburg. Identical research, promotional, meeting organisation and travel planning services will be provided to all delegates ahead of each market.

While recession has hobbled the Nigerian economy for much of the past year, forecasts predict continued growth for Africa’s entertainment marketplace. “Within the next five years, the Sub-Saharan African marketplace is expected to grow by 35% and become the fastest-growing world region for entertainment content business,” said Patrick Zuchowicki, general manager of business event organisers Basic Lead.

That growth will be driven by “original, multi-platform entertainment content produced in Africa, reinforced trade between Sub-Saharan African countries and intra-regional coproduction initiatives. People from Nigeria are not going to go to Sweden to sell their content – they’re going to stay in Africa. That’s where their prime market is,” said Zuchowicki.

Nigeria was the first country to take centre-stage at Johannesburg-based Discop Africa in November 2013. A range of dedicated events, screenings and conference tracks took place to mark the 20th anniversary of Nollywood, which highlighted the rapid growth in the Nigerian movie industry.

tagged in: Basic Lead, Discop, Discop Lagos, Discore, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Patrick Zuchowicki