States are forced to respond to the pandemic, limiting reserves for industries other than medicine. As part of such measures, an increase in the critical rate of state-owned banks is being undertaken, allocating funds directly to the most critical aspects of solving the problem. While the entertainment industry is a critical sector in Nigerian GDP performance, government support is likely to decline, impacting the pace of the industry development (Ohia, Bakarey, and Ahmad, 2020; Chindma, 2021; Etuk, 2020). There are four main implications for the business of this industry. First, projects that exist only at the expense of state support from Nigeria will either suspend or slow down their activities. Specific grants are a business support mechanism in many countries, but they are aimed at existing projects to continue paying wages to employees (Wong and Wong, 2021). The entertainment industry suffers the most from this, which will affect the launch of an animation and film course project, delaying it or forcing it to look for other funding sources.
Secondly, the business will focus on monetizing online activities. Nigerian film or TV series content is just beginning to tap into the potential for exports, which, with the development of streaming platforms, could thrive even with restrictions in place (Husseini and Sunday, 2019). Thirdly, lending to businesses will likely not disappear entirely but will be held at a high key rate. Certain representatives will continue to conduct operations, having received assets to meet short-term obligations while significantly increasing long-term ones. Finally, the fourth impact for business is connected with job losses, reduced pace, and scale of activity due to restrictions lead to a deterioration in the purchasing power of citizens, leading to economic stagnation (Ayodele, Ogunjuyigbe, and Alao, 2018). Stimulation of the economy is possible only through government support or lending, which occurs at unfavorable rates, due to which the launch of the course project may have to be postponed until a more favorable market situation.
The geographical impact of the virus on Ibadan is also generally negative. Firstly, in addition to restrictions, social distancing requirements and the use of personal protective equipment are introduced, which creates new requirements for the educational process (Hussain, 2020; Oladipo et al., 2020). Secondly, coupled with the dense population of Ibadan, compliance with all established sanitary standards is much more difficult (Ayodele, Ogunjuyigbe, and Alao, 2018). Against the backdrop of the lending situation, additional costs to create a safe environment with falling revenue look problematic, especially for new projects. Thirdly, since many universities are located in Ibadan, which suspends or transfers classes to a remote mode, an outflow of the target audience for this startup to their homeland is possible due to the lack of the need for face-to-face presence (Oyedele and Lasisi, 2019). The fourth consequence is the problem with the urban infrastructure of Ibadan: access to electrical resources was in short supply even without a pandemic, and now most of the resources will be directed to the medical industry.
Methods
Crowdfunding in the context of a decrease in the purchasing power of citizens and the restrictions and requirements imposed during the spread of the pandemic is not considered a possible source of income for a startup. Angel investing is the preferred option for several reasons. The term initially appeared in connection with the sponsoring of art activities in theaters, which is quite close in spirit to the cinema (Crick and Crick, 2018). As a result, angel investing involves high risks associated with the initial launch of a startup. Sooner or later, the restrictions will be lifted, and the industry will require an influx of specialists.
Donations should not be ruled out since, in the early stages, a startup needs third-party solid financial support. However, more specific financial inflows should be expected at the same time. Firstly, benefits and grants from the state are possible if project representatives at different levels of government manage to prove the profitability and relevance of a startup. Secondly, the course project counts on a high operating income due to the mass recruitment of students and further monetization of the developed content on the network. Given the rise of such technologies in marketing, gaming, television, and music, graduates can expect a high degree of employment opportunities, including remote employment due to the pandemic (Ovharhe, Woko, and Ezeocha, 2021; Tsai and Chen, 2021). The conclusion of contracts with graduates for further cooperation makes it possible to receive additional income and the income from the courses themselves.
Ibadan is listed as a student city: several higher educational institutions operate on its territory, among which there are pedagogical colleges, the West African Institute of Economic and many more. The Institute for Social Research hosts an exhibition of Nigerian National Art (Oyedele and Lasisi, 2019). This factor can be used as a potential platform for advertising courses and finding the primary audience of students among young people. Since Ibadan has a historical old city, a relatively large amount of natural territory, it is possible to unlock the city’s tourism potential from the development of content about regional flavor (Helen and Praise, 2020). In this context, another plan of attracting state capital for this project is possible.
The low residence threshold in Ibadan may offset the limitation in the availability of lending for new projects. According to statistics, this city is the third cheapest to live in, which opens up opportunities for financial activity and attracts new people to the city by opening a promising project (Olatunji, Yoade, and Adeyemi, 2021). Representatives of the metropolitan areas will be able to come to Ibadan with cheaper housing and cheaper courses compared to the capital, in order to master a specialty at a significantly lower cost than competitors offer in the capital, where such courses are much more (Top 11 Nigerian Film Schools, 2022). In addition, the potential for demonstrating local color may already be partially exhausted in the capital, which cannot be said about the regions.
Region Advantages
Although the city infrastructure is better developed in the capital, there is no competition in the regions. Most of the famous animation and film courses in Nigeria are located exclusively in Lagos and have a reasonably high price for a short period of study (Ai Multimedia Academy, n.d.). It should be borne in mind that there are more opportunities for further employment in the capital region; however, the density of available courses creates challenging conditions for launching another project. A non-alternative choice with a customer-oriented service gives an undeniable advantage to a startup in the regions, which, coupled with more affordable prices, can even attract some capital residents, since even the living conditions in general in this city are cheaper, as mentioned above.
The second reason is to unlock the potential of regional flavor in the content being filmed. Ibadan has a historical part of the city, where architectural structures from the founding time in the 19th century have been preserved. Over time, a small settlement that arose on a hill began to occupy the territory of seven hills adjacent to each other, on one of them – Oke-Are-mo, a tower rises, from the platform of which a view of the surroundings and nearby territories (Oyo State, n.d.). These locations can draw attention to the history of the city, its heritage, and its tourism potential. With global restrictions on flights to other countries, domestic tourism is noticeably increasing during the pandemic (Abbas et al., 2021). The country’s cinema can get new views and landscapes for various scenes that were not considered before due to the lack of industrial development in the region.
Further development in other regions may attract government funding. This specialty is in great demand within the development of the industry throughout the country and spreads to related industries that require specialists around the world (Tsai and Chen, 2021). Within such business sectors, companies do not prevent remote employment, attracting foreign investors to the country. Finally, graduates can conduct their activities individually, which, thanks to social networks, when creating high-quality and unique content, they will be able to monetize their creativity even without employment. The influx of funds to the population will provoke a rise in economic indicators at the state level.
Finally, online presence is one of the key focus areas of these courses. The Internet makes it possible to instantly access the created content from anywhere globally, which develops brand awareness of the region not only within the country but also on the world stage. By creating unique and exciting videos, graduates will create conditions for further export of content at the national level. Considering that there are a relatively large number of universities in Ibadan, the target audience in the form of students and young people will receive a specialty in parallel with their main activities, minimizing individual employment risks. Internet activity is possible even in pandemic restrictions, which opens up additional income opportunities for both startup organizers and course graduates.
Impact
The most challenging stage in developing a startup is the initial one, which requires investment and relatively large sales. On the one hand, Ibadan is ideal for the development of the project: the city is home to many young students who are ready to learn and open to new opportunities; there is no competition, and the potential for regional color has not yet been developed, which is essential in the creative process. The factors of the spread of the pandemic, for the most part, complicate the process of launching the project; however, in general, the problems seem to be surmountable. Online presence is possible even during a pandemic; during this period, it increases significantly; in this regard, the organizing team will look for ways to develop the brand and content to create a reputational image and a foundation for further growth in the country.
Otherwise, restrictions will be lifted sooner or later due to the pandemic. The project will hold various events, attracting tourists and professionals to Ibadan to hold film festivals and develop this industry in the region. The pricing of the courses will depend on the cost of renting equipment and paying teachers but should be kept at a comfortable level for potential clients to attract mass students who do not have high purchasing power. The relatively low cost of courses will be offset by group learning, further monetizing student-created content, and mentoring the most successful graduates. Support for growth and sales will be supported by the constant presence and updating of content on social networks and the Internet, where the content created in the classroom will be used for marketing purposes.
Flexible Options
The adaptation of the opportunities is in cooperation with universities in the territory of Ibadan: in this way, it is possible to attract more students to the courses among the target audience. In addition, the flexibility in the use of locations for content creation can constantly attract investors and other film companies to create historical scenes nature shots. Finally, the importance of following the trend in social networks is explained by a relatively easy alternative to switching between goals in creative implementations: creating a product takes a certain amount of time, which pays off with the quality of high technology and the experience of teachers. In general, the business plan will adapt to the external factors of the pandemic, economic indicators, social media trends around the world, and the possibility of exporting content with a regional flavor. Pandemic restrictions do not have a critical impact on business deployment in Ibadan, but at the same time, they have a wide range of prospects for the future development of this industry.
Reference List
Abbas, J., et al. (2021) ‘Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on tourism: transformational potential and implications for a sustainable recovery of the travel and leisure industry’, Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 2, pp. 33-39. Web.
Ai Multimedia Academy (n.d.) Web.
Amusan, L., and Agunyai, S. C. (2021) ‘The COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis of lockdowns in Nigeria: The household food security perspective’, Africa’s Public Service Delivery & Performance Review, 9(1), p. 10. Web.
Ayodele, T. R., Ogunjuyigbe, A. S. O., and Alao, M. A. (2018) ‘Economic and environmental assessment of electricity generation using biogas from organic fraction of municipal solid waste for the city of Ibadan, Nigeria’, Journal of Cleaner Production, 203, pp. 718-735. Web.
Chindma, A. (2021). Nigeria – Country Commercial Guide. Web.
Crick, J. M., and Crick, D. (2018) ‘Angel investors’ predictive and control funding criteria: the importance of evolving business models’, Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, 20(1), pp. 34-56. Web.
Etuk, E. H. (2020) ‘Cluster analysis of Nigerian real GDP’, Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(1), pp. 119-132. Web.
Helen, O. O., and Praise, E. E. (2020) ‘Assessment of tourists’ perception and satisfaction in Agodi Park and gardens Ibadan as a nature-based tourism attraction’, Granthaalayah, 8(7), pp. 144-159. Web.
Hussain, T. (2020) ‘Education and COVID-19 in Nigeria: Tackling the digital divide’, SOAS Blog, 28. Web.
Husseini, S. H., and Sunday, O. A. (2019) ‘From Nigeria Film Industry to Nollywood: Land-Marking the Growth of the New Wave Cinema’ in Nollywood in Global Perspective (pp. 25-43). London: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Web.
Ohia, C., Bakarey, A. S., and Ahmad, T. (2020) ‘COVID-19 and Nigeria: putting the realities in context’, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 95, pp. 279-281. Web.
Oladipo, A. T., et al. (2020) ‘Challenges with medical education in Nigeria in the COVID-19 era’, The Pan African Medical Journal, 37. Web.
Olatunji, S., Yoade, A., and Adeyemi, S. (2021) ‘Evaluation of Infrastructure in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria’, Ghana Journal of Geography, 13(1), 81-102. Web.
Ovharhe, O. H., Woko, E. B., and Ezeocha, V. U. (2021) ‘Remote Working: Entrepreneurial Risk and Entrepreneurial Survival in the Micro Firms in Niger-Delta, Nigeria (COVID-19 Pandemic Prospects)’, International Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Research, 9(4), pp. 11-28. Web.
Oyedele, J. O., and Lasisi, M. I. (2019) ‘Perceived Cultural Dimensions in Classroom Interaction: Implications for Learning at the Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan’, Journal of Danubian Studies and Research, 9(1). Web.
Oyo State (n.d.) About Oyo State. Web.
Top 11 Nigerian Film Schools (2022) Web.
Tsai, P. H., and Chen, C. J. (2021) ‘Entertainment in retailing: Challenges and opportunities in the TV game console industry’, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 60, pp. 102-105. Web.
Wong, J., and Wong, N. (2021) ‘The economics and accounting for COVID-19 wage subsidy and other government grants, Pacific Accounting Review, 33(2), pp. 199-211. Web.