Yofi Grant, CEO of GIPC
Government’s main investment promotion arm, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), has intensified efforts at attracting the needed investment into the film industry.
So far, a number of investors from different regions of the world, have held discussions with the GIPC about investing in the sector, the most promising being a Los Angeles-based investor.
“A group from Los Angeles has expressed interest in setting up a state-of-the-art film studio and a theatre art school here in Ghana, having identified a potential market in the sub-region and the continent as a whole that warrants such investments,” Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Mr. Yofi Grant said at a recent National Film Authority webinar.
He further revealed that other investors have expressed interest in projects in the Eastern Region Mr. Grant, however, pointed out that some teething problems in the industry have to be addressed to provide the right environment for the investment in the film sector.
“There are three things investors want to be sure about before putting their money forward: returns on investment, sustainability and growth. I dare say that it’s time we moved from potential to actualization” he said.
Across the globe, the film industry has proven to be a major contributor to the economic development of many economies.
The American film and television industry, for instance, paid out US$49 billion to local businesses across the country and supported 2.1 million jobs in 2016, according to data from Motion Picture Association of America.
In Africa, Nigeria’s Film industry, Nollywood, is recognised as one of the largest film producers in the world. The Industry has been identified as one of the priority sectors in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan for the West African Federal State with a planned US$1 billion revenue in 2020 according to a PWC report on “Perspectives from the Global Media and Entertainment Outlook 2017-2021”.
To attract the needed investment. Mr. Grant said: “Once you put out your project and can properly define it, you can then make it sell to potential investors”.
Meanwhile the State, he adds, must create an ambient condition with laws and incentives to help develop the industry to its full potential seeing as it’s a part of our cultural process, identity and pride.
