Amplify Live Production Academy Boosts African Entertainment

The live events production industry in Nigeria and Africa has received a boost with the inauguration of the Amplify Live Production Academy, an initiative aimed at equipping practitioners with the skills required to compete in the global entertainment industry. The academy was unveiled at the second edition of the Amplify Live Production Conference held in Lagos on Thursday. According to the brains behind it, it is designed to provide training for sound engineers, lighting designers, event promoters and other technical crew members who work behind the scenes at live events. The convener of the conference, Siji Ewedemi, said the initiative was conceived as part of efforts to build a structured and globally competitive live production industry in Nigeria and Africa. Ewedemi said the 2026 conference, themed, “The Business of Live”, was a follow-up to the maiden edition, which had the theme, “From Hustle to Industry”. He noted that while the first edition focused on transitioning live production from an “informal hustle” into an organised industry, the 2026 edition was aimed at exploring ways to make the sector a viable wealth-creation industry. According to him, training remains one of the most effective ways of achieving the goal, hence the need for a dedicated training centre where both new and experienced practitioners can acquire knowledge of global trends from industry professionals. He said, “Amplify is a movement with a desire to build a structured and globally acceptable live production industry in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Related News ‘Corporate culture will define future firms’ Smartcomply joins global body for payment security Sanwo-Olu pledges collaboration with event managers “The hustle has given way to the business of live. We are looking at ways to make the industry viable and a wealth-creation industry. The most promising way of achieving this is through training.” Ewedemi also stressed the importance of developing local expertise to meet the demands of the country’s rapidly growing entertainment industry. He noted that many prominent figures on the global entertainment scene were Nigerians, adding that there was an urgent need to develop local technical professionals capable of supporting the industry at international standards. According to him, the goal is to ensure that participants receive training based on global standards and obtain certificates that would be recognised and competitive internationally. Delivering the keynote address, an events expert, Temidayo Oladehin, urged practitioners to embrace stronger business practices, fair pricing and improved contractual structures to address some of the financial challenges confronting the sector. Oladehin advised stakeholders against measuring success by the number of events they were involved in, urging them instead to focus on building sustainable businesses. The conference attracted several stakeholders in the live events industry, including Shola Oyebade, Shola Oladimeji, popularly known as Mahogany, Kumi Ariyo, Stella Daniels and Femi Dayo. Kindly share this story: