MBO Capital: 80% to 90% of Nollywood films start shooting with first-draft scripts

An estimated 80% to 90% of Nollywood films go into production without adequate script development, according to Adekunle Adebiyi, Executive Director, Investments at MBO Capital Management Limited. He said the gap is tied to limited access to patient capital and it is affecting storytelling quality and production standards in Nigeria’s film industry.

Adebiyi spoke during an interview on Nairametrics’ Drinks and Mics. He said Nigeria produces approximately 2,500 films annually, but a significant share moves from the first draft of a screenplay straight into filming.

Debt financing skips script development

Adebiyi linked the trend to the industry’s heavy dependence on debt financing. He said such financing typically supports production and post-production expenses, not the earlier stages of creative development. MBO Capital’s film investments have largely involved debt financing for production, post-production and, in some cases, marketing.

"The bigger issue is this: based on our estimates, anywhere between 80% and 90% of Nollywood films are shot using the first draft of the script," he said.

He added: "A lot of times, when you watch these films, you can tell that more time could have been spent on character development, really tugging at your emotions and making you identify with certain characters."

"And why is that? Because script development is a pure equity cost."

He noted that script development requires equity investment because filmmakers cannot guarantee when, or whether, the money spent on developing a screenplay will be recovered.

"Script development, all that stuff, is a pure equity cost. You cannot do that with debt," he said.

Adebiyi cited Call of My Life, which he described as the highest-grossing Nigerian film of the year. He said MBO Capital financed the film’s international marketing rather than its production. He argued that more patient equity capital would allow filmmakers to spend more time developing stories and characters before production starts.

"Until we have more patient capital that can allow us for someone to say, you know what, develop this character a bit more, I don’t think we’re going to get to that point whereby our stories really…" he said.

Distribution and cinema gaps limit returns

Adebiyi also identified the absence of predictable distribution and revenue recovery structures as a major challenge for film investors. He said investors often struggle to establish how and when they will recover capital, especially when producers depend on streaming platforms to acquire their productions.

He said the limited number of cinemas in Nigeria further restricts revenue-generating opportunities.

"A lot of people are trying to sell it to Prime, sell it to Netflix. So first of all, if Prime don’t open and Netflix don’t want it, I don’t get paid. And then we don’t have enough cinemas," he said.

MBO Capital uses an assessment framework with approximately 10 to 12 criteria to evaluate film investment proposals. Despite the challenges, Adebiyi said investor interest in Nollywood remains significant.

"Right now at MBO Capital, we get at least one film pitch a day from Nigeria," he said.

Funding history and industry risk

Nollywood remains one of the world’s most prolific film industries by production volume, but structured financing remains a major constraint. In an earlier report by Nairametrics in 2025, MBO Capital had invested over $6million in 35 Nollywood film and television projects since 2017.

Filmmaker Pere Egbi spent approximately N200 million producing The Silent Intruder, which generated N53 million at the box office. The figures highlight the financial risks in film production and the difficulty of recovering investments through cinema distribution.

In an earlier interview with Nairametrics, filmmaker Nora Awolowo called for greater domestic investment in Nollywood. She argued that the industry’s long-term sustainability depends on developing its own financing and production infrastructure.