You see, funding our projects at the Duke of Shomolu Foundation is another kind of sales
Some people see the push for sponsorship and support as ‘begging ‘, and I beg to differ
It is another kind of sales with its own well-defined benefits that may or may not be material, and depending on the parties
Some could be for tax purposes, most for impact and a lot more, and the best known for branding, media mileage and positioning
Increasingly, as I look at the profiles and motives of our support, the impact part of it has grown from a meagre 10% to about 60% and on this, Obey and Zik hitting 80%
Of the total amount we have raised so far, less than 20% has been for branding, positioning and media mileage, and the reasons are not far-fetched
As the economy tightens, media budgets become increasingly challenged, and corporates are now looking for more quantitative benefits than just the usual mileage, and you can’t blame them
What would you be adding to the brand positioning of, say, Access Bank or First Bank with a football match, since they have already achieved top-of-mind positioning in the marketplace
This reminds me of a conversation I had with the late Herbert Wigwe when he was interviewing me for a position at Access
Edgar, this is a big bank. What money do you want to bring that will fundamentally affect us
Cos of this positioning, most big brands are supporting at the impact level-to give back, for relationships and to sustain brand visibility, hence the shrinking budgets, which, as I have mentioned, is also a direct consequence of the volatility of the marketplace
Conversely, on the impact side, contributions are growing tremendously both at the corporate and individual levels
In our case, we have pulled in over N100m so far, and 80% came in on the back of impact
Large corporations are pouring funds into internal foundations with clear objectives
MTN has the MTN Foundation, and Dangote has its own.
Heirs Holdings, with its TEF Foundation, has taken all to another level.
Others like Airtel have CSR units with clear directional lines
So you see people like us speaking more to the CSR people or the Foundation much more than the marketing comms people in some of these organisations
On the individual side of things, it is clearer and easier
The level of exposure, the level of increasing economic challenges and the wide gap between the ‘haves and have-nots’ have shown a huge spike in impact support
High Networth Individuals now find it very imperative to support causes either for emotional reasons, tax purposes or as an adjunct to their businesses and finally for relationship reasons
What this does is that it now funnels much-needed funding very quickly towards areas of need
The Arts is one of those areas, and this is where we play very succinctly
So we play in a space that is severely challenged cos we have gatekeepers who were weaned by Govt funding and grants
While other aspects of Entertainment now understand the ‘money game ‘, our custodians in theatre are still under the tree at the National Theatre, drinking their palm wine and waiting for Godot
Recently, I saw a write-up berating the cost of hiring the revamped National Theatre. I laughed
While we are there throwing barbs, Dbanj and Dekunle Gold have gone there to do sold-out shows cos they understand the game
The only theatre show that’s worth its while, to the best of my knowledge, and I could be wrong since its opening has been Bolanle Austen Peters’, and even that, I think it was during the opening, meaning that it was not a ‘show’ but a commissioned outing.
Not to digress, let me come back to the new face of fundraising.
Last night, I sat down with a Billionaire Chairman of a huge indigenous conglomerate, and I told him my challenge.
Sir, I have a list of names, and they are not all taking my calls
He looks at the list and laughs – Edgar, this is not a workable list, na. Of the 200 names, only 10 are of any use to you.
How much do you need? He asks, and I tell him, and he laughs and starts making the calls
10 minutes later, we have over N100m in pledges, and I notice something
None of that conversation touched on the technicalities of my productions, but all we’re benchmarked on relationships and impact
A good 50% called in their CSR people, while the rest were anchored on their relationships
Now, is this sustainable? Can this bear a vibrant theatre culture? How do we spread this through a community who do not have access or where they do not know how to oil it
Individual-driven impact support of theatre has come to stay and would grow deeper as the years progress and the economic challenges persist, and this is why serious players must perfectly understand these flows and align if they are to have a prayer
So yes, N50k is more than enough
Some people will now call me a con man for this one
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: July 2, 2026
