BANK OF INDUSTRY INTRODUCES NOLLYFUND
In continuation of BOI’s support for the Nigerian Creative Industry, BOI has developed a special Product Program called “BOI NollyFund” under which Nigeria’s leading movie producers will receive financial support to produce international quality films and screen them through various platforms of movie distribution available both in Nigeria and internationally.
To support this process and ensure that only commercially viable scripts with good storylines benefit from the scheme, the Bank has set up a NollyFund Implementation Advisory Group made up of two (2) cinema management experts, one (1) national film distributor, two (2) production and post-production experts, two (2) film critics/reviewers, and two (2) film producers. The Group’s mandate is to critically review all the film scripts and associated budgets submitted to BOI by movie producers and make technical recommendations to BOI management for final credit appraisal and subsequent approval in line with the Bank’s Credit Policy.
NollyFund has an initial Program Limit of N1.0billion and a single obligor limit of N50million for individual loans.
The Fund can be accessed by Companies engaged in film production. Applicants are expected to provide commercially viable scripts and demonstrate a track record of successful movie productions. The producer is expected to sign up a reputable distributor who would issue a Minimum Guarantee and provide a cash deposit of 5% of the loan amount. A Minimum Guarantee is a cash advance payable to the Producer by the Distributor in exchange for the exclusive rights to distribute a film in contractually stipulated media in agreed Sales Territory. This is similar to the internationally accepted loan structures for movie production and will definitely provide a great boost to Nigeria’s Nollywood.
The Bank has already accredited some reputable Distributors (namely: G-Media, Filmone Distribution Company, Silverbird Distribution Company and Genesis Deluxe Distribution Company) and Studio Operators (namely: Fans Connect Online Nigeria Limited (i.e. Afrinolly), Kingsley Ogoro Productions Limited and 4Screams International Nigeria Limited) to support this initiative.
It would be recalled that the Bank of Industry had in the recent past, financed the following creative-industry projects: Half of A Yellow Sun, Flower Girl, Digitization of Silverbird Cinemas, The Filmhouse, Viva Cinemas, Ozone Cinemas, G-media etc.
Interested movie producers are advised to visit www.boi.ng/nollyfund to obtain more information on the Product features, the procedure for submission of applications, documentation requirements, pricing, amongst other relevant information.