The Acting Managing Director of Bank of Industry, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, has commended the founder of Terra Kulture, Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters, for establishing Terra Arena, an ultra-modern theatre unveiled in Lagos last week.
Located in the Terra Kulture complex on Victoria Island, the facility intends to host live performances regularly, with Austen-Peters saying it was inspired to boost the development of the industry.
She noted that BoI was among the corporate organisations that supported her.
Austen-Peters said, “When we went to London with Waka-The Musical, they sponsored us, and then when we wanted a loan facility as well, they gave it to us. They have an incredible team of professionals. They keep to the letter, and operate in a very friendly atmosphere. I do admire them, very professional and efficient.”
On his part, Olagunju noted that the chief executive officer of Terra Kulture had demonstrated passion, consistency and professionalism in the way she invested in the sector.
According to him, BoI is created to support any potentially viable initiative that will contribute to Nigeria’s GDP.
He said, “In 2013, the creative economy accounted for 1.6 per cent of our GDP, which is a vindication of Bank of Industry’s optimism, in terms of the potential of Nigeria and Nigerians in the creative economy. And that is why we set up the Creative Economic Desk some 10 years ago to support our talents, our artistes to realise their potential, and then of course to be able to convert their talents into good business models and then, hopefully, coming up with potentially viable business plans that we can support – ones that can attract both debt and equity.
“We play in the debt space as a lending institution and we’ve lent to a number of them in recent times and they’ve done quite well. Terra Kulture will also do well because this initiative is one of the best in the world; not just in Nigeria or Africa. We watched Austen-Peters grow in Nigeria and we have also seen her perform on the international scene.”
He recalled that the Bolanle Austen-Peters Production’s Waka-The Musical was successful the last time it was taken to London.
Meanwhile, Wakaa, a musical play about Lagos life, will be on stage at Theatre Arena on Saturday. Produced by the Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions, it is showing as a part of the ongoing celebration of Lagos at 50.