Livespot Reinvents Africa’s Creative Landscape with New Structure and First Original Film
After twelve years of leading Africa’s most significant cultural moments, Lagos-based creative powerhouse Livespot is reshaping its future with a new five-vertical operating model and the announcement of its first scripted feature film, University of Side Hustle
Livespot, the integrated creative agency behind some of Africa’s most iconic cultural experiences over the past decade, unveiled a refined operational structure and introduced University of Side Hustle, its inaugural original scripted feature film.
This dual announcement marks the most substantial evolution in the company’s twelve-year journey, signalling a strategic shift from merely producing Africa’s celebrated cultural moments to owning the infrastructure that underpins them.
African music now headlines global festivals; Nigerian films are acquired by the world’s largest streaming platforms; African designers sit front row at Paris Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week. Yet, global attention alone does not sustain an industry.
According to UNESCO and the African Development Bank, Africa’s creative economy is valued at nearly $59 billion and is projected to support 20 million jobs by 2030. Realising this potential demands more than talent — it requires the development of intellectual property, world-class content production, immersive environments, audience engagement, talent connectivity, strategic partnerships, and sustainable enterprise models.
This is the ecosystem Livespot has built over twelve years and is now formalising with its new structure.
“The first phase of Africa’s global creative rise was about visibility. The next phase is about ownership, structure and execution. The world already knows African talent is powerful. The real question now is who is building the systems that can carry that power into the future. That is where Livespot has always been focused,” said Darey Art Alade, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Livespot.
Five Verticals. One Vision.
While previously described as an events company, a production house, or an experiential agency, Livespot now operates across five interconnected divisions, each dedicated to a core aspect of Africa’s creative economy:
– Livespot Studios – The award-winning film production arm, producing content for broadcast, streaming, and brands. Credits include The Voice Nigeria*, *Last One Laughing Naija, Amazon Prime Video’s first African unscripted original, and The Real Housewives of Lagos for Showmax, which earned Deola and Darey Art Alade multiple AMVCA nominations this year.
– Livespot Scenic – Creating the stage designs, sets, and environments behind Africa’s most-watched broadcasts and brand activations, from the AMVCA awards to UEFA Champions League experiences and the Fenty Club.
– Livespot Spaces – Designing and operating premium venues where African culture comes alive. Its flagship, the Livespot Entertarium in Lekki, has hosted premieres, NBA watch parties, and major live events. A new 3,395 sqm Entertarium in Ikoyi is scheduled to open in 2027.
– Livespot Experiences – Delivering experiential marketing and producing live cultural moments, including the Livespot X Festival (featuring Cardi B, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tems), Detty December Fest (Gunna, Busta Rhymes, Diamond Platnumz), and Love Like A Movie (Kim Kardashian, Ciara, Kelly Rowland).
– Livespot Icons – The talent partnerships and bookings agency, collaborating with artists’ teams to broker festival bookings, brand partnerships, ambassador deals, and casting opportunities across film, television, and live events.
A company statement summarised the model: “Studios produces. Scenic builds the environments. Experiences delivers the live moments. Spaces hosts and houses the work. Icons supplies the talent. A single brand activation, festival, or production can move through all five divisions inside one group, with one creative standard maintained throughout.”
University of Side Hustle: The IP-Driven Cinema Innovation
University of Side Hustle exemplifies the new model — the first original scripted feature film produced by Livespot’s Studios division, built by Scenic, premiered at a Spaces venue, with Icons supplying talent. It showcases how the integrated approach works in practice.
Expanding Africa’s Creative Horizons Globally
Earlier this year, Livespot launched EWA Creative Connect in Los Angeles and London, connecting African talent and infrastructure with international investors, executives, and cultural leaders from organisations such as Warner Records, Diageo, Amazon, and the British Film Institute. The initiative aims to embed African creativity into global pipelines.
The flagship EWA Convergence in Lagos has become a hub for dealmaking, with its Deal Room providing emerging entrepreneurs their first opportunities to pitch to investors — four companies attracted live investor interest in its latest edition.
Deola Art Alade, Founder and Group CEO of Livespot, emphasised: “African creativity has never lacked talent, imagination or global appeal. What has often been missing is the connective tissue; the companies that sit across content, capital, live experience and infrastructure and make them work as one system. We are not just producing moments. We are building the architecture that helps African culture move with power, structure and ownership.”
As Africa’s creative economy transitions from global attention to global influence, the organisations that have already laid the groundwork for infrastructure and ownership will lead the way into the next decade.