By Ben Agande

DIRECTOR General of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Mr. Emeka Mba, has said that Africa is no longer waiting for help from world powers but reaching out aggressively to market what potentials it has to offer.

Speaking at a special session on exploring production opportunities in Cannnes France, Mr Mba said that while Africa had its challenges, those wishing to come should see them as opportunities for mutual benefit, like some American companies recently took advantage of the power challenges to enter a partnership to privatise the power sector in Nigeria.

The conference with the theme: “It is time for Africa” is organised by MIPCOM, the global content market organisation.

Mr. Mba told the organization that contrary to the impression created by international media, Africa is not one country, but a number of countries with varying characteristics and peculiarities. He told the gathering that the new attitude of the Nigerian government to business growth was that if it could not help business to grow, then it wouldn’t stand in the way of business.

Other speakers at the Nigerian day during the conference include Bernard Arzia a content entrepreneur from Ivory Coast, Pascal Schmidtz a Producer from South Africa, and a consulting expert on African content Mr. Russell Southwood from the United Kingdom, with Bridget Scarr of Hummingbird International moderating.