Nollywood Consensus: Modeling a Development Pathway for Africa

A Critical Discourse of EI and CA in Emerging Economies: The Place of Nigeria Within the Global Innovation Ecosystems

“…The Nollywood film industry emerged in the 1990s in response to basic economics of survival in the face of the difficulties inflicted by the structural adjustment programme (SAP) in Nigeria (Ezeonu, 2013). For decades, the theatre, cinema houses and film production outlets had well-established presence with impressive performance and growing revenues in Nigeria but the SAP changed the fortune of the industry and other segments of the society leading to massive loss of jobs, closure of cinema houses due to poor patronage, downturn in marketing of foreign films, placement of embargo on foreign products that can be produced locally by Nigerian entrepreneurs, worsening living condition, drop in the living standards of small income earners, upsurge in crime, hopelessness, escalated cases of industrial actions (strikes and lockouts), upsurge in migration to developed nations otherwise called brain-drain, survival by hook or by crook, devaluation of the local currency to boosts exports, inflation, deepening of unofficial trade across Africa’s borders, removal of subsidies on public goods (education and healthcare), abject poverty and social insecurity (Ezeonu, 2013; Meagher, 2003; Raimi et al, 2014). In coping with the harsh economic conditions imposed by the SAP, a number of innovative entrepreneurs selling foreign movies mooted the idea of recording indigenous movies (home videos) in a bid to circumvent a potential business loss in the film industry.…”

“…In coping with the harsh economic conditions imposed by the SAP, a number of innovative entrepreneurs selling foreign movies mooted the idea of recording indigenous movies (home videos) in a bid to circumvent a potential business loss in the film industry. The idea paid-off with the successful release of several home videos (Ezeonu, 2013; Jedlowski, 2013). The creative and innovative introduction of home videos into the Nigerian Film industry at the peak of an economic downturn is supported by the Schumpeter’s creative discovery theory.…”

“…Furthermore, the RBV, which emphasises firm’s competitiveness is also relevant to Nigeria’s Nollywood industry. As discussed above, Nollywood has continued to flourish in spite of the CA of America’s ‘Hollywood’ and India’s ‘Bollywood’ in the global movie industry because Nigerian film entrepreneurs decided to reinvent an innovative and a flourishing style of film production and distribution that is flexible, cheap and appealing to the customers in Nigeria and across Africa (Ezeonu, 2013; Jedlowski, 2013). A number of studies noted that Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry is the third globally ranked movie industry producing an average of 2,000 movies annually (Evuleocha, 2008; Madichie, 2010).…”

“…Facts and insights extracted from the critical review of literatures (see Evuleocha, 2008; Ezeonu, 2013; Jedlowski, 2013; Madichie, 2010; Miller, 2012; Ondego, 2008) indicated that unlike Hollywood and Bollywood films, Nigeria’s Nollywood has been able to innovate effectively, both technologically and structurally to gain CA in the following ways: Nollywood strategically replaced the expensive culture of going out to watch movie in cinema houses in the cities with home video—a more convenient, cheaper and people-friendly culture of watching movie without leaving the comfort of one’s family’s compound or the local neighbourhood. Nollywood movies are not made for big screen in theatres or busiest cinema houses in cities, although some of their videos appear on terrestrial and satellite television including small screen venues in villages and cities. Nollywood industry avoided the luxurious, costly and grandiose production approach of global film industry, rather it thrives on velocity, low cost of production and informality with regards to recruitment, financing, marketing and distribution. The turn-around time for a movie is fast—an average of 10 movie scenes are shot within a day and maximum of two weeks for shooting a full movie. The movies are produced and sold to cross-section of the population in Nigeria and communities across Sub-Saharan Africa that are generally left out of dominant global Hollywood’s distribution plans.…”