Colette Otusheso, CEO of Accelerate Media Group, shifted the focus of the NECLive 2025 infrastructure debate from physical assets to human capital and education. Speaking on the panel; BUILDING CREATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE TO POWER AFRICA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH alongside Steve Babaeko, Moliehi Molekoa, Shaibu Husseini, with moderation from Seyitan Atigarin.
Otusheso argued that the most critical gap stifling African creativity is the lack of proper training pipelines and safe spaces for young talent. “One of our biggest challenges is not having the infrastructure for them to learn properly in the creative sector,” Otusheso stated.
She recounted her journey building Accelerate, driven by the realization that talented young people lacked the structured environment to develop their ideas and skills.
Otusheso highlighted Accelerate’s practical solution: the Accelerate Filmmaker Project, which provides training, mentorship from industry giants like Kemi Adetiba and Kunle Afolayan, and a clear path to monetisation through their African-focused streaming platform, Accelerate Plus. This model, she explained, is about “incubating, creating a safe space for young people to create… and most importantly for me creating a space that we could actually train young people.”
The media executive delivered a pointed message to government agencies, urging them to prioritise collaboration with proven industry leaders. She called for the government to “give power to the people that have been there, done it and can do it,” warning that without the right public-private partnerships led by experienced hands, the industry will continue to fall short of its potential.
