Group unveils $5bn plan for Niger Delta creative economy

African media and technology group FOAN Group has unveiled a long-term investment plan valued at up to $5 billion to develop the creative and digital economy in the Niger Delta, with Akwa Ibom State positioned as the initiative’s anchor.

The proposed investment will centre on the C54News Global Streaming Dome at Dakkada Tower in Uyo and will span news production, documentary filmmaking, streaming technology, professional training, and digital enterprise.

FOAN Group said the $5 billion represents the projected long-term value of a multi-phase investment pipeline, not capital already deployed.

At the centre of the plan is C54News, a digital-first news, data and documentary network designed as a continental African platform. Its Global Streaming Dome is located in Uyo, with a production hub in Nairobi, a commercial hub in South Africa, and an African editorial hub in Senegal coordinating coverage across the continent, including Francophone Africa.

Group Chief Executive Officer of FOAN Group, Idris-Etanami Usman, said the investment was designed to expand the economic identity of the Niger Delta beyond oil and gas by harnessing its human capital, culture and creative potential.

“We are not establishing another Nigerian television channel. We are building an African news, data and documentary network whose Global Streaming Dome is located at Dakkada Tower in Uyo,” Usman said.

He said Akwa Ibom was central to the initiative, describing the state as “the host, the foundation and the principal gateway through which this continental platform will operate.”

FOAN Group said the investment would develop capacity in digital journalism, broadcast engineering, documentary production, cinematography, data journalism, animation, graphics, podcasting, streaming technology and virtual production.

The C54News Global Streaming Dome is expected to provide professional training within an operational newsroom and production environment, enabling participants to gain practical experience with broadcast systems, digital platforms and production technologies while contributing to content for African and international audiences.

The group said the model would create a pathway from professional training to production, distribution and paid creative work, with opportunities for independent producers, documentary teams, technology ventures, digital publishers and specialist production companies.

According to FOAN Group, the initiative comes amid growing global demand for African music, film, fashion and digital content, while significant gaps remain in the infrastructure required to finance, produce, distribute and monetise such content within the continent.

The group said the Global Streaming Dome would help address some of these gaps by giving creators and technical professionals access to production infrastructure, professional development, and continental distribution from within the Niger Delta.

Usman said the investment would also create opportunities for talent from Akwa Ibom and the wider Niger Delta to participate in the continental and global creative economy without first relocating to established production centres elsewhere in Africa or overseas.

“For too long, the Niger Delta has been defined primarily by the resources extracted from beneath its soil,” Usman said. “This investment is about the value that can be created through its people, ideas, culture, technology and creative capacity.”

C54News plans to distribute news, documentaries, data journalism, verification reports, podcasts and digital video through streaming, mobile and other digital platforms.

Its continental structure is expected to provide reporting and production capacity across English- and French-speaking Africa. The Nairobi hub will support production in East Africa, the South African hub will focus on commercial development, while the Senegal hub will coordinate African editorial operations, particularly in Francophone markets.

The C54News Global Streaming Dome in Uyo will serve as the network’s technological and distribution centre, connecting journalists, producers, filmmakers, developers and other creative professionals across the four locations.

FOAN Group said the planned investment could position Akwa Ibom and the wider Niger Delta as an emerging centre for creative production and strengthen the region’s capacity to produce, own and distribute African news, documentaries and other intellectual property to global audiences.

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