Get Guardian on GoogleBLAZE Channel, a US-based digital monetisation and streaming platform, has unveiled plans to revolutionise demand for Nigerian content in North America in a robust arrangement that would yield over $10m yearly.
The plan, which is aimed at financially empowering Nigerian creators as well as boosting foreign exchange earnings for the country, will target creatives across genres like Film/Nollywood, Afrobeat music, Fashion, Culinary Arts, Publishing, Visual Arts and Crafts, Pharmaceuticals and Tourism.
In a statement, Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic World Digital Communications, Ufuoma Okonoko, a lawyer, renowned actress, filmmaker and digital monetisation expert, said expectations are high for the massive potential of Blaze Channel as the primary avenue to monetise the Nigerian creative industry internationally as the company awaits funds from the Creative Economy Development Fund, CEDF.
“Nollywood filmmakers produce great films, but they find it very difficult to monetise them. We created Blaze Channel as a Digital Monetisation platform in the U.S., not only to stream and monetise the movies, but more importantly to monetise Nigerian creative industry products.
“The strategy utilises the huge power of Nollywood films and Afrobeat music to attract international eyeballs and earlobes to the digital monetisation platform where creative industry products such as Fashion, Culinary Arts, AI, Publishing, Pharmaceutical products and Arts and Crafts are displayed for sale to the international market, thus creating huge tourism potentials and FDI for Nigeria,” Ufuoma said.
In a related development, the Chairman/CEO of Atlantic World Digital Communications, Tony Abulu a prolific Nigerian-American filmmaker, has expressed confidence in Ufuoma’s skills in realising the set goals and plans to introduce her innovation to American filmmakers and businesses through the various American Chambers of Commerce.
According to him, “as soon as the funds are available, Ufuoma will lead the Nigerian creative industry to massive monetisation opportunities in the U.S., where Nigerians already repatriate over $10 million annually in diaspora remittances back to Nigeria.
“Wait until we truly unleash our monetisation potential of billions of dollars in the African American community in the U.S., where our “cousins” already spend $2 trillion annually as consumers in America. I am happy Ufuoma is leading this with passion. She had previously worked with top software engineers in the U.S. for 10 years, designing the Digital Monetisation Platform. The platform was officially launched in 2018.
“Presently, the platform has attracted over 2,000 subscribers worldwide, with plans to infuse additional capital to acquire more Nollywood movie distribution rights with a more robust marketing budget.”
