Media practitioner Charles Opurum has called for stronger collaboration between startup founders and the media in Nigeria’s South-South and Southeast regions to enhance storytelling and visibility around local innovations.
Opurum made the call during the Build, Connect and Grow Conference held recently in Port Harcourt. The two-day event, organized by StartUpSouth, a start-up ecosystem development and advocacy organization, brought together tech enthusiasts, innovators, business founders, and entrepreneurs to discuss innovation, invention, and growth within the region’s tech space.
Speaking during a panel session titled “Media & Storytelling in Shaping the Startup Ecosystem,” Opurum, explored how media can influence perception, shape narratives around African innovation, and drive collaboration across the ecosystem.
“Politicians, big business moguls, and political juggernauts are the people who usually get the huge chunk of airspace,” Opurum said. “That poses a problem for startup founders who are still struggling to break even. But that’s an error because we’re in the 21st century, moving into the era of AI and large language models. In the next 15 to 20 years, every company is going to become a media company.”
Opurum, who works with Channels Television, explained that many startup founders underestimate the role of storytelling in building trust and visibility for their ideas. He urged them to utilise media platforms to share their stories.
“If you don’t say, ‘this is where I am,’ nobody will know where you are,” he said. “Founders have to hunt us down to tell their stories, and we in the media must also be gracious enough to reserve space for them.”
While acknowledging the financial pressures facing media organizations, Opurum stressed that these challenges should not stand in the way of collaboration.
“The media is, first and foremost, a business,” he noted. “We have over 400 staff to pay, licenses, taxes, vehicles, and offices to maintain. So, yes, we have to pursue commercial interests. But this shouldn’t stop collaboration with startups.”
He went further to make a personal pledge to push more tech-related stories from Port Harcourt and the Niger Delta region.
“When I moved to Port Harcourt, I started pursuing interesting stories sports, for instance,” Opurum recalled. “Now, I’ll commit to also pursuing tech stories. I’ll start pushing stories from here in Port Harcourt. I think that’s a good start.”
Opurum’s remarks resonated with other panelists who agreed that the gap between the media and the startup ecosystem must be bridged through deliberate effort.
For Bruce Lucas, CEO of Olotu Square the problem lies not only with startups but also with storytellers who fail to recognize opportunities within the tech space.
“When I come up with an idea or build a product, I don’t want to be the one telling the story,” he said. “Storytellers need to see the value in the tech space. The onus really lies on storytellers to tell the stories of people building solutions and creating impact.”
Drawing a parallel with the entertainment industry, Lotus added:
“Artists don’t tell their own stories — writers and reporters do. The same should apply to tech. Writers should make money from telling tech stories. If you’re a good writer, find startups, tell their stories, and earn from it.”
Another panelist, Chidirimunma, emphasized the need for both founders and journalists to intentionally meet halfway.
“Ours is a personality-driven society,” she said. “Founders often think the media doesn’t care about them, and the media, on their part, are chasing trending stories. What should happen is that both sides consciously make themselves visible. Founders should position themselves, and journalists should actively look out for innovation stories.”
She further called on media organizations to design affordable packages tailored to startups’ realities.
“Startups don’t have huge budgets for media,” she explained. “Media houses should create packages that accommodate founders because many are still growing. At the same time, founders must consciously put their stories out so that those who should tell them can find them.”
The Build, Connect and Grow Conference underscored one resounding truth: for the Niger Delta’s startup ecosystem to thrive, its stories must be told.
And as Charles Opurum aptly put it, that will only happen when founders and media practitioners build bridges around storytelling and visibility.
