Bebuzee Unveils Digital Super App in Lagos, Targets Africa’s Creative Economy
By Naomi Onome
Bebuzee, a digital technology platform combining social networking, entertainment, streaming, e-commerce, artificial intelligence and other digital services, has been unveiled in Lagos with a focus on expanding opportunities for African creators and users.
The platform was launched on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos, where leading figures in Nigeria’s film, television, technology and creative industries gathered to witness the unveiling.
Bebuzee describes itself as a digital ecosystem designed to bring multiple online experiences together on a single platform. Its services include SocialBuz, ShortBuz, Bebuzee Streaming, BBZ TV, BuzSense AI, AI Twin, ShoppingBuz, GIGBuz, ProperBuz, TradeBuz, TaxiBuz and Buz-Eat.
The platform also unveiled veteran and contemporary Nigerian entertainers, including Patience Ozokwor, Ebele Okaro, Jide Kosoko, Segun Arinze, Paul Obazele, Zubby Michael and Destiny Etiko, as brand ambassadors.
Speaking at the event, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bebuzee, Joseph Onyero, traced the idea behind the platform to 2004, when he and some friends in Cambridge developed a messaging-service concept that was never launched.
He said the emergence of similar social networking services later encouraged him to continue working on what he described as an ideal social media platform, eventually leading to the development of Bebuzee.
According to Onyero, the long-term vision is to build a digital utility platform for Africa, with Bebuzee targeting more than 400 million users across the continent as it expands its services and reach.
He said the platform was designed to enable users to communicate, create content, access entertainment, shop, work and earn income through multiple digital services.
Onyero said Bebuzee currently offers more than 15 products and services, providing opportunities for users to generate income through content creation, freelancing and other digital activities.
He also said Bebuzee Streaming, which he said is based in Amsterdam, focuses on African films and provides profiles that connect actors and actresses with their movies.
NFVCB DG urges protection of intellectual property, highlights distribution and monetisation challenges
Delivering the keynote address, Director-General of the National Film and Video Censors Board, Dr. Shaibu Husseini, said the major challenge facing Nigeria’s film industry was increasingly shifting from production to distribution and monetisation.
Husseini traced the evolution of Nollywood’s distribution channels from videocassettes and traditional film markets to VCDs, DVDs, cinemas, satellite television, YouTube and streaming platforms.
He said digital platforms had created opportunities for Nigerian and African stories to reach audiences in cities across the world, but stressed that global reach must be accompanied by quality, originality, strong intellectual property and effective monetisation.
He urged digital platforms to ensure that value generated from creative works flows back to the creators through proper contracts, copyright protection, licensing, revenue-sharing arrangements and transparency.
The NFVCB boss also reminded digital platforms that online distribution does not remove regulatory obligations, noting that films distributed or exhibited digitally remain subject to applicable laws and classification requirements.
He challenged Bebuzee to innovate responsibly, respect intellectual property, protect audiences, comply with regulatory requirements and create sustainable value for African creators.
Lagos Film and Video Censors Board speaks on AI
The growing influence of artificial intelligence on the creative industry also formed a major part of discussions at the launch.
Mrs. Bukola Agbaminoja, Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board, said although she initially took time to understand the rapid development of artificial intelligence, she had come to recognise its potential benefits to the creative sector.
Agbaminoja said AI could assist creatives in areas such as generating songs and voices, preparing reports and transforming scripts, stressing that the technology was already becoming part of the creative process.
She, however, called for greater engagement between creative practitioners, regulators and major digital platforms to address emerging challenges associated with artificial intelligence.
According to her, stakeholders should engage platforms such as YouTube and other social media companies while also organising conferences and structured discussions to develop practical ways of addressing misuse of AI.
She noted that individual creative associations might not have sufficient capacity to tackle the challenges alone and therefore needed to collaborate with regulators, technology companies and other relevant stakeholders.
Agbaminoja said AI was here to stay and that the industry should embrace its opportunities while putting measures in place to prevent abuse and protect creative works.
Her position is consistent with the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board’s broader emphasis on balancing creativity with compliance and supporting the growth of the film industry.
Industry leaders debate AI, actors’ rights
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The AI discussion also generated contributions from prominent actors and industry practitioners.
Veteran actor Jide Kosoko recalled that there were initially fears that new technologies could displace actors and other practitioners, but said the industry had repeatedly adapted to technological changes.
Actor Zubby Michael acknowledged his limited understanding of AI but said technological advancement could not be stopped and should be approached with an understanding of both its opportunities and potential risks.
Patience Ozokwor raised concerns about the use of actors’ images and voices in AI-generated content, stressing that performers should be properly compensated whenever their identities, voices or likenesses are commercially exploited.
Other participants discussed the possibility of creating voice banks where voice artists could register their voices, agree to specific terms and receive payment when their voices were licensed for use.
They also raised concerns about deepfakes, unauthorised use of voices and images, and the potential loss of commercial opportunities for actors if advertisers increasingly turn to AI-generated personalities.
Zeb Ejiro noted that AI could affect different parts of the creative production chain, including scriptwriting, acting and make-up, stressing the need for the various professional associations to work together in protecting practitioners.
Participants also called for collaboration with relevant regulatory and technology institutions to develop safeguards around AI-generated content, voice cloning, deepfakes, copyright and data protection.
NTA, Bebuzee announce strategic engagement, digital collaboration
The Zonal Director of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA Lagos Network Centre, Dr. Evelyn Nwosu, said the broadcaster was open to strategic partnerships capable of advancing Nigeria’s digital media ecosystem.
Nwosu, who described herself as both a representative of NTA and a theatre practitioner, said she was particularly pleased to witness the launch and celebrate veterans and other practitioners who had contributed to Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
She said the media environment was rapidly shifting towards digital convergence, on-demand content and mobile consumption, adding that NTA was exploring ways to modernise its operations and align its traditional broadcasting reach with emerging digital platforms.
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Nwosu welcomed Bebuzee to Lagos and expressed optimism that collaboration between established media institutions and new technology platforms could create measurable opportunities for young Nigerians and the wider creative economy.
Bebuzee promises opportunities for African creators, positions platform as African-focused ecosystem
Onyero said Bebuzee was designed to address some of the difficulties African creators face on existing digital platforms by providing more opportunities for monetisation and audience engagement.
He said the company intended its artificial intelligence tools to assist creators, editors and other users in improving productivity and generating more revenue.
He also highlighted the platform’s messaging, social networking, streaming, shopping, freelance, blogging, recipe and television services, describing Bebuzee as a comprehensive digital ecosystem.
The launch attracted several prominent figures from the Nigerian entertainment industry, including Jide Kosoko, Patience Ozokwor, Segun Arinze, Zeb Ejiro, Ejike Asiegbu, Emeka Duru, Fred Amata, Paul Obazele, Zubby Michael, Anita Joseph, Felix Duke and others.
Government and regulatory representatives at the event included Dr. Shaibu Husseini of the NFVCB, Dr. Evelyn Nwosu of NTA Lagos and Mrs. Bukola Agbaminoja of the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board.
The event underscored the growing intersection between technology and Nigeria’s creative economy, with participants emphasising the need to embrace digital innovation while ensuring that creators’ rights, intellectual property, audience protection and appropriate regulation remain central to the industry’s development.
More photos from the event:
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