Starting from 2020, Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NECLive) could become a three-day showcase.
Founder and Convener, Ayeni Adekunle, made this known at the 2019 edition which took place on Wednesday, April 24, at Landmark Event Centre in Oniru, Lagos.
Now in its seventh year, NECLive is an annual convergence of practitioners from all sectors of the entertainment industry ecosystem. The conference sees them come together to have conversations, workshops, exhibitions and master classes in order to proffer practical intellectual solutions for the advancement, growth and development of the Nigerian entertainment industry.
As with previous editions, this year’s conference themed ‘Mobile, Data, Consumers and The Future of Entertainment’, featured various speakers including PiggyVest Co-Founder, Odun Ewenyi, who spoke on the topic ‘Democratising Payments’. MTN’s Chief Transformation Officer, Bayo Adekanmbi gave an insightful lecture on ‘Understanding Data For The Purpose of Economic Freedom’, while Fade Ogunro, the CEO of Bookings Africa and Dayo Adeyelure, a marketing professional and founder of Booked By Us both spoke on the topic ‘A Business Of Numbers’.
Having hosted over 100 celebrity guests and speakers, and over 25,000 live participants in its seven editions, Ayeni says a single day showcase will no longer be sufficient. With the planned expansion to a three-day event, the all new NECLive 2.0 will accommodate more activities transforming the conference to a more interactive and experiential event.
In his presentation titled ‘Let’s Do Things Differently’, Ayeni gave a detailed description of his vision for NEC Live moving forward. “From 2020, we’re going to experiment with having the conference over a course of three days. We will consolidate on turning this into a full interactive and experiential experience.”
Shedding more light on the proposed new format, Ayeni adds, “We will experiment with a model that lets us keep part of it free and also provides opportunities for those who want to hold sessions, consultations and meetings.”
The Nigerian entertainment industry has grown exponentially in the last two decades. However, much of that growth is domiciled in Lagos, the entertainment capital of the country. As part of the new proposed NECLive 2.0, the conference which has always been held in Lagos will now be held across three locations in Nigeria with Abuja and Port Harcourt in view.
“I don’t believe in just talking,” Ayeni remarked as he closed his presentation. “I think the industry is very active right now. I don’t think we are doing justice to all the great things that we’re doing if we just come here every year to talk and complain about issues,” he concluded.
The 2019 NECLive conference organised by ID Africa in partnership with Africa Creative Foundation, was streamed live and broadcast to millions of viewers who watched from various parts of Nigeria and across Africa.