By Adejuwon Osunnuyi
In its bid to provide more job opportunities for young African photographers, and content creators, Peexoo Technologies, a tech-based photography platform has signed a partnership deal with big equipment producer, Canon.
The partnership was announced at an event held at The Bulb House in Lagos.
Speaking in his welcome address, Tosin Osunkoya, Co-founder, Peexoo Technologies said the partnership is aimed at helping photographers improve their work.
The partnership, according to him, brings together powerhouses in still and motion photography across Africa whereby an e-commerce platform is created to enable photographers to buy Canon products at discounted rates, one of the benefits of the partnership.
Through the partnership, members of the Peexoo community will have access to Canon’s technologies, enjoy free masterclasses, and also purchase equipment seamlessly.
Peexoo is a photography start-up leveraging artificial intelligence technology to support photographers and help upscale their businesses by connecting them to clients. It also serves as a platform for them to archive their work and display them for potential clients.
Already two years in operation, Peexoo has around 1,800 photographers registered. The platform intends to create ‘Peexoo Stock’ to help photographers sell their stock images.
Osunkoya said while a lot of negative things have been said about Africa in the past, Africans must start telling their own as stories, as such stories have been found out to be completely false.
“African stories have been said wrongly. For instance, we have been told that Africa is evil, it is a jungle. But that’s not true.
“We need to change the narratives. The only way we can do that is for us to tell our stories by ourselves. Nobody is going to help you tell your own story better. You have to do it yourself. That’s exactly what we are doing at Peexoo.
“We need to start creating content in this country. It is in the like of content creation that we have film makers, stories tellers, social media influencers being relevant because they have contents to share.”
“Here at Peexoo, we’re reimagining the creative arts, from how image-makers find jobs to how they edit pictures, create portfolio’s and grow their client base. The work we do is shaping the future of image-making and this global partnership with Canon is the catalyst in bringing the rest of the world into the picture.
“Canon has been a long-standing supporter of film and photography education groups. Their corporate philosophy, kiyose meaning “working and living together for the common good” is evident in their approach towards creatives in Africa,” he said.
Steve Nwadike, a co-founder, who spoke at an event announcing the partnership in Lagos said; “We are partnering with a banks for loans so that photographers can buy equipment and pay on instalments.
“Peexoo will bring to the table, resources that would expand the photography community in the country.
“Peexoo is not just a platform to showcase imagery, but a platform for expanding your businesses.
“Our dream is to see a developed visual sector in Nigeria, one that is internationally recognised and its visual content is converted into key economic benefits for its creators and the society at large.”
With the introduction of digital photography, the photography business in Nigeria has become one of the most lucrative businesses today because digitalized pictures and videos are now the order of the day.
The digital photography global market outlook report put the value of the global digital photography market at $79.12 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $149.98 billion by 2026 growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4 percent during the forecast period.
While there is scant data on the size of the sector in Nigeria, there are thousands of photographers in Lagos alone, and around 20, 000 events take place in the city.
Some of the key factors influencing the market growth include increasing demand for smartphone penetration and rising interest in photography.
Wande Adams, CEO of The Bulb Africa, who also doubles as a co-founder at Peexoo, said disrupting the photography space with technology cannot be done without recognizing the work that Canon has done in the past.
He said the partnership is to be able to create more opportunities for the photographers on their platform.
According to Adams, being able to join forces with Canon and leveraging the amount of its experience will enable them to run masterclasses for African photographers to learn from the past experiences of other photographers.
“What this partnership does is that it will bring international facilitators to train in our master class. It also opens the door for photographers in our community to be able to access opportunities globally,” he said.
Adams added that Canon is a multinational and the partnership will give validity to Peexoo because it encourages photographers to see a platform that is being recognized by a brand as big as Canon.
Omotayo Omodia, Canon’s country manager, described the partnership as exciting and explained that they chose Peexoo because what they are doing resonates with their corporate belief and goals.
For her, Peexoo creating a platform where photographers can not only drop their content but also make money by meeting potential clients
“I think it’s amazing and for us at Canon, we look forward to helping people tell their stories, skill development, empowerment, and we look forward to more people knowing that Canon is a brand that is there to empower them.”
Highlighting the major benefit of the partnership to image-makers, Omodia noted; “a lot of them are already finding their way (independently) but we would like to play a role to take them from where they are today and give them access to a lot of openings from job developments to platforms where they can showcase their work”
“We have a responsibility to our customers and towards the communities which goes beyond just business,”
“This aligns perfectly with the services we offer image-makers here at Peexoo and buttresses the importance of this partnership in providing solutions to the economic vices facing the continent.