So by now, you guys know that I am taking my beautiful play on King Sunny Ade to London this October
It is the second in a series and our vision is to drop two plays annually in the UK to service first the over 200,000 Nigerians in the Diaspora and later the international market which is yearning for Nigerian entertainment
Last year, we debuted with Awo-UK which was a resounding success
Although we faced challenges, we still delivered a beautiful show and an investment summit that brought Emir Mohammed Sanusi II and other distinguished guests to the table.
Now Awo-UK was a test run. It was N200m about £100,000 at that exchange rate
It was a mad expedition cos then the exchange rate was on an extended madness.
When we envisioned the play, the dollar was slightly below N800 but by the morning of the play, it had crossed the N1,700 mark
The strategy then was clear. Since we were an unknown quantity out there, we raised the money locally and delivered on the promise
Our push locally delivered Herbert Wigwe, who opened up Access Bank UK, and at his demise, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede stood in.
People like Kola Adeshina, Segun Awolowo, Odua Group and their chairman Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Orangeline, Century Group and more delivered on over 80% of the budget while British Airways came in much later with a bumper showing
We sold out the two shows, paid off all of our obligations and came back home with no profits but with a clear strategy of now better understanding the market
So for KSA-Uk, the strategy is simple
With more transparent partners headed by brilliant Tayo Elesins Elesin Production, the budget for KSA-Uk which was initially padded by an errant partner is now 40% less than that of Awo-UK
So KSA-Uk is now £62,000 with us finding out that we were made to pay so much money for nothing on Awo-UK.
So for example, we paid £4,000 for the rehearsal venue which was actually £400 for Awo-UK but that line for KSA is free
For Awo-UK, we paid £10, 000 for instrument rentals for KSA-Uk is less than £300
As a result of these, the hurdle rate for KSA-Uk is way lower, and our chances of crossing it are far easier.
The first thing we did this time, was to register DOSF-Uk under brilliant investment banker – Seun Fadiora who has put in place a world-class vetting and payment structure which blocks leakages, ensures appropriate pricing and also makes sure we meet all regulatory obligations
Secondly, we engage Tayo Elesin, who is a veteran in the UK scene. She is so transparent and honest that every day I am reminded of the tsunami of corruption I ran into during Awo-UK as she has entrenched a very transparent and world-class model in vendor engagement and acquisition
Without any sweat, she has delivered on cast and crew at below the £25,000 budget and has drawn up contracts with them that fall on the UK law that says that we can pay actors six weeks after the show
Now, this removes the pressure of pre-payment before the show on us unlike Awo-UK, where we were told that we had to pay the cast upfront before show day.
Now let me explain. Awo-UK said to pay over £50,000 upfront. Now apart from the fact that this was padded, we had to run helter-skelter to raise the money which put us and our sponsors under very mad pressure
For KSA-Uk, we are relaxed as what Tayo’s regime has opened for us is the need to only look for the £11,000 fee for the iconic Shaw Theatre and look for money for air tickets to fly in Lagos cast and crew
The rest of the budget can be covered by ticket sales making us relax and look for the money with ease and Shakara.
Thanks to Datamellon, First Bank and Unified Payments, we have paid £10,000 for the Hall, we even now have the luxury of paying deposits for digital marketing and have engaged legendary DJ Abbas for PR and have secured 15 London buses
Now let me talk about London Buses. Our dream has always been to be on those buses, and our former Partner brought a budget that would have seen us attempt to buy Buckingham Palace with the money instead.
But thanks to my sister Esther and Sidi – our American Digital Marketer we got the whole 15 buses and two billboards for not more than the cost of dinner at a local Nigerian restaurant in Central London
Now, all of these have made our strategy of looking for money internationally very simple.
So now we have dropped the sponsorship categories to less than £5,000, which has enabled such iconic brands like LEMFI to jump on it.
We have also designed a retail category which takes between £100 and £500 for Nigerians who would like to devolve their passion for Nigeria through this kind of support
Great guys like Seun Oduwole, Segun George and a few others have keyed in
Now, cos we have the laxity needed and have paid for the hall, we can open the box office, and tickets have started selling.
KSA-Uk would be remarkably profitable as we have found out that the fear of the British tax system was unfounded
The fear made us rush into a partnership that took over 200% of what we would have paid as tax to the British authorities in padded costs, kickbacks and invisible payments
This time the tax liability that we have seen is almost so negligible that we wonder why we were afraid in the first place
KSA-Uk funding strategy now gives the average Nigerian in the diaspora the opportunity join the movement of telling our stories, giving job opportunities to our actors out there who are not being given the opportunity and also, very importantly, bringing back our pride all for as little as £100.
Next year, we plan to deliver Zik and Kashimawo to the UK in a bumper showing of Nigerian theatrical pride.
KSA-Uk will be playing at the Shaw Theatre in London this October 4 and 5 and tickets are already flying off the hook
Go to Shaw-theatre.com for more enquiries but come to me for sponsorship enquiries
Be a part of history, call me
Duke of Shomolu
09060500632