Sterling Bank Plc has called for monetization of intellectual property of creators in the creative industry.
Mr Lanre Olalusi, head of Creative and Entertainment Business Financing of the Bank, made this remark while addressing participants at the 2021 edition of Legends of Nollywood Awards held in Lagos recently.
“We have realised that this sector is crucial to the Nigerian economy because of its significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provision of employment for many Nigerians. So, we are looking into the sector to see how we can upscale it and to see how we can monetise intellectual property by partnering with artists to create long-term value through their works,” he said.
He advised artists to seek valuation of their current body of work and use them as collateral to get financing for their current projects, instead of seeking grants to finance their operations.
He explained that Specta is an instant online lending platform that offers consumer loans of up to N5 million in five minutes, adding that the lending platform uses proprietary data analytics to process and disburses consumer loans.
This is even as Mr. Clem Agba, minister of State for Budget and National Planning, urged the artists to take advantage of the N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility stimulus package for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).