Steve Babaeko calls for stronger legal protection to power africa’s creative future at NECLive 2025 

At the 2025 edition of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference (NECLive), advertising executive and creative industry leader Steve Babaeko warned that Africa risks losing the full value of its booming creative economy unless urgent structural reforms are implemented.

Speaking during a panel session, Babaeko noted that many of the publishing systems, data pipelines and backend technologies driving the success of African creators are still owned outside the continent, limiting the economic gains retained locally.

He added that despite the global rise of African music, film, fashion and digital content, creatives continue to operate with weak legal protection, facing exhausting workloads without adequate safeguards.

Babaeko called on policymakers to strengthen and fast-track intellectual property (IP) processes, while building modern regulatory frameworks that truly protect creators. He also urged governments and private-sector leaders to introduce incentives for individuals and companies working across the creative value chain.

To unlock long-term growth, he emphasized the need to “finance the future” through creative venture funds and IP-backed financing models that enable creators to scale their work sustainably.

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But funding alone is not enough, he argued. Babaeko stressed that Africa must invest in training the next generation of creative professionals from camera operators and editors to engineers and creative lawyers who will power the industry beyond its superstar talent.

“Our future depends on the systems we build and the people we train,” he said.