D’BANJ Rewards C.R.E.A.M Subsrcibers With Cash
“I HAVE A GREAT TEAM OF JUDGES AND AN R WHICH INCLUDES GODWIN TOM AND HARRY SONG, ICE PRINCE, WANDE COAL, TO HELP MENTOR THE ARTISTES WE ARE BRINGING ON BOARD”
Mirth and merry nestled on the suave visage of superstar singer, D’banj, at the one year anniversary event of his innovative digital talent hunt platform, Creative Reality Entertainment Arts Music, CREAM, held Wednesday, September 27th, at the Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos. His excitement is understandable. One of Nigeria’s most successful music stars of all time, D’banj said he conceived the CREAM idea because “I was being inundated right, left and centre by people who wanted to ‘blow’. It was a time too that I wanted to reach out to those talents in Ogbomosho, Langtang and everywhere else who could not come to Lagos to achieve their dreams but have the talent and passion to do music.” He added, “I wanted a platform that can help find creative talent from anywhere in Africa and give them a fair chance of making their creative dreams come true, from the comfort of their homes.”
CREAM, thus, started with a mission to offer a veritable platform for uncut musical talents across the country to have their songs recorded and released, shoot musical videos for deserving up and comers and help unknowns secure collaboration with established acts. At the outset in September 2016, there were only a few hundreds of tentative subscribers on the platform.
By July 2017, D’banj sensationally revealed that the CREAM platform had grown into a staggering 2million subscriber base and is now worth an estimated $100million. He made this declaration late July with an Instagram post, stating, “7:7:17; a dream that started on paper and went live today exactly a year ago, to help CREATIVE talents find their Dreams across Nigeria.” He stated further, “A year later, it has become the channel that I was looking for in 2012. It has gotten a Global Label Distribution Deal for my people (African Talents) to birth the Label @DCREAMRECORDS and has just been valued above a US$100 million Dollars. I’m so humbled; just want to thank God, my family, my FANs, ACS, critics and my partners. And, I want to tell you, no matter what, believe in God and believe in yourself!” While the first set of beneficiaries on the platform were Rayce, TK Swag, MKJ, Leke Benson and Legend Courage, the lives of many other subscribers have altered dramatically with cash prizes ranging from N50, 000 to N1million during the monthly draws.
He also used the occasion of the anniversary to dispel insinuations that CREAM is a scam. “I have a great team of judges and An R which includes Godwin Tom and Harrysong, Ice Prince, Wande Coal, to help mentor the artistes we are bringing on board. So, it’s not a lottery platform, the lottery part of it is just an added incentive. The winners are usually chosen by judges so even if I help the artistes shoot a video, they still need to make money, look good and move around, and for those who have already received their money, they know it is not a scam.” At the one year anniversary event, different winners drawn from across the country were presented their cheques.
Speaking on the challenge of the initiative, D’banj, whose new album, King Don Come, is already a chart-force, said the widespread distrust among Nigerians makes some winners doubt even their own winnings. “Some people have been registering on the CREAM platform and winning prizes ranging from a million naira to N50, 000, but I noticed that whenever we call the artistes to inform them of winning huge amounts of money, they become scared and don’t bother coming to claim their prizes, it is understandable because of the present situation of the country. They think it is a scam, they think it’s unreal, but I am here to tell you that it is not a scam, I have invited them here for you to see,” he said.
PARATECH LOOKS TO THE FUTURE OF INFO TECH
The little boy may not have understood what was going on that Saturday afternoon. It was the commissioning of a new enterprise at in the Ajah area of Lagos, but all that his impressionable mind could grapple was that the niceties of the ceremony-a tape was cut by the Guest-ofhonour Pastor Nnaemeka and a door was opened to usher the beginning of Parach Tech Limited.
“Daddy, so this was all about the opening of a door’? With this query, he made a huge statement about the commencement of a business that is projected from a humble beginning to the ends of the world. In the plan of the Lagos State Government and the owners of the new company, the imagination of the little boy has already been captured according to Mr. Samuel Bemi, Chief Operationg Officer of Parach Tech.
Lagos State has already started a Kid Coding scheme that helps children in primary and secondary school understand how to write computer software. Parach Tech is one of the private sector driven efforts to give a shot in the arm to the efforts of the state government.
Parach Tech is also a hub for business, giving an opportunity to businessmen and women who may want to use its space
over a short or medium term. Studies leading to certificates by international IT certification bodies like by Oracle, CISCO can be obtained through painstaking studies at Parach Tech.
Bemi said, ‘We are an IT firm with a difference. We have a direction. We have vision. We have core values. This will live beyond us. It is something big that will go all around the world in terms of IT services. We want to play our part to impart of the IT knowledge we have to the next generation. This is an Information Technology company set up by IT professionals to meet the business needs of small, medium and large companies. We want to be the IT company of choice known for excellence in delivery.’
NIGERIA TRAVEL WEEK TARGETS 40 MILLION DOMESTIC TRAVELLERS
Nigeria tourism is set to turn the bend as the trio of Avantgarde Tours Limited, Afro Tourism West Africa Limited and Rewards Travels and Tours Limited, team up to excite the travel industry with a new platform, Nigeria Travel Week (NTW), which is not only meant to be a befitting end of year event but a window to promoting Nigeria.
Speaking during the media unveiling of the new travel project, the Managing Director of Avantgarde Tours Limited, Efetobo Awhana, who is also the CEO of NTW and spearheading this epoch making platform, disclosed that it is gear at promoting domestic tourism by making Nigerians see need to patronise the country’s tourism as it targets 20% of Nigerians exploring the country in the next five years with over 20 million direct and indirect jobs created.
According to him, NTW ‘‘is a multi – day tourism event platform that aims to drive the Nigeria tourism sector by bringing together buyers, consumers, travel technologies, tourism/travel service providers and the media to network, review and discuss the development of tourism in Nigeria.’’
The over one week event, billed to hold between November 20 and 29, including pre and post event hosted buyers familiarisation tours, he said is aimed at achieving the following: To help nurture healthy leisure lifestyles and change the ‘Nigerian’ perception that travel is luxury; To promote domestic tourism in Nigeria and thus ensure a proper balance in the ‘Africans travelling Africa’ campaign on the continent; and To change the media and general narrative of Nigeria as a “Boko Haram and Corruption Country” to a Rich Ecotourism and Cultural Tourism Destination.
The goals as revealed by him include to achieve 20% of Nigerians travelling Nigeria in five years and to create 2,000,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2022 as it impresses it on the Nigeria public that travel increases creativity, boosts health, improves satisfaction and happiness; Nigeria as a destination worth first consideration for leisure and short breaks and that travelling Nigeria and Africa helps fight poverty in Nigeria and on the African continent even as it shows the international community that Nigeria as a destination is endowed with unique tour-
ism attractions and an array of tourism investment opportunities
Awhana also disclosed that the activities slated for the platform, which include media (Radio and TV) tour, ffamiliarisation tours, travel roundtable, ttourism Cup (Golf), vvillage square, travel hangout and NNigeria tourism awards, would hold at different locations, such as: Wheatbaker Hotel, Freedom Park, Ikoyi Club, Lekki Leisure Lake and Federal Palace Hotel.
ZAINAB BALOGUN IS GRATEFUL, OPTIMISTIC OVER NEW EBONYLIFE FILM
She never dreamt of it. Never an- ticipated that her rise to stardom will be this meteoric. When she returned to the country few years ago, her plan was to add value to her industry. But all that changed when she joined the EbonyLife TV family. From being a TV presenter and producer, Zainab Balogun has become a leading actress in the company’s film production arm. Her first stunt was in the movie ‘The Wedding Party’, where she played the role of a wedding planner. Her comical character was one of fan’s favourite.
Now in the latest flick by the media company, Royal Hibiscus Hotel, Balogun clinched the leading star role, Ope, a disillusioned chef who returns to Nigeria and discovers that going home can bring unexpected surprises. The film premiered recently at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Looking back at her career journey, Balogun feels grateful to be a member of EbonyLife.
“It is something I never dreamt of. When I was told last year that we would be going to Toronto for The Wedding Party, it didn’t really hit me how big this is until we got there, stood on the stage and saw the response from the international audience. Then to now shoot another movie where I’m the lead character. This is my first lead so it’s like achievement upon achievement. I’m extremely overwhelmed, blessed and happy that I have to show people these talents I have. I have been a member of the EbonyLife for three years and to have their support is really amazing. Finding the right kind of people to work with is very important. The kind of people who want to push you and support you. I’m grateful to have that kind of family.”
Balogun owes much of her success to her diligence towards her craft. She is not the type that just shows up for audi- tion without rehearsals, she said in a brief interview, “You will always find notes on my script because I want to give in my best.”
For this particular role, she had to do a whole lot of research in the culinary world.
“I have to do a thorough research before auditioning for this role. What is it about chefs that makes them unique? What is it about cooking food that makes you feel good? It’s the smell, the feel, the taste. I discovered that cooking looks easy but it’s a bit complicated. I love to cook and I think I’m not bad at it.”
By no means is she a clairvoyant, but Balogun predicted that Royal Hibiscus Hotel will outdo The Wedding Party before its Toronto screening. Going by the standing ovation the new film received at the Toronto International Film Festival, Balogun’s assertion may be right. According to reports by the media company’s agency, R&B PR, Royal Hibiscus Hotel had a sold-out premiere at the festival.
Balogun starred alongside renowned Nollywood actors Jide Kosoko and Rachel Oniga who played her parents. Other members of the cast include Kenneth Okolie, Toni Tones, and Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju. Ishayo Bako directed the movie.