“First of all I have to say that this is my first time in Nigeria, and honestly I’m really impressed with how hardworking the production team is” Phil Livingstone, the amiable Dragon keeper confessed instantly, “Dragons’ Den is an interesting format and Nigeria is the 16^th country it’s being done in, and I must say that I think the set and the entire production arrangement looks really fantastic, it has a very Nigerian feel to it, and I think the viewers are going to relate with it” And that is a big plus for Nigerians, an endorsement of quality coming from the custodian of the Dragons’ Den franchise.

He told me what he thought of the first day of shoot: “ the first day of shoot is always the most nerve-wrecking day for the dragons, but these dragons handled the entire process professionally and enthusiastically…they blended with each other, and seemed to bring their combined knowledge and expertise into the assessment of all the business ideas and projects presented to them by the pitchers…It’s also refreshing to see the ingenuity of the ideas and projects that the Nigerian entrepreneurs have been bringing to the den”

Phil Livingstone also expressed his satisfaction with the quality of dragons on the show, confessing his belief that these dragons have what it takes to keep the fiery flames of the Dragons’ Den burning across Africa, “From what I’ve seen so far, the dragons on Dragons Den Nigeria all fit the bill of what we’ve had in other countries really well, and I’m looking forward to the show being lots and lots of fun”

Wow!

But what does he think about all the dragons investing in one particular idea? Has it happened before? Does it signal dragon-rivalry? And he said, “well it varies from country to country, and I think the conduct of the dragons is part of whatever the national character of the country is, in the UK there’s always a ‘bidding war’ if there’s a really  good idea that two or three of the dragons like…and sometimes an idea is so good that all the dragons want to invest, and that happened here today…in the end they all agreed to put in equal amounts of money and all take part in what they think is a fantastic business idea…so sometimes they’ll fight and sometimes they’ll come together and that’s going to be part of the attraction of the show - to watch when they’re fighting each other and when they come to an agreement”

Finally, we know that the show is being sponsored by UBA and MTN, with support from Fate Foundation-and produced by the powerhouse of reality TV productions- STORM VISION, so I was curious to discover the role SONY Pictures is playing in the production; and Phil Livingstone explained their role in the production: “well, we (SONY Pictures) own the rights to the format, and my particular role which is one that I’ve done in just about every country that Dragons’ Den is being launched in, is to come over and help the production team, because I can say ‘when we did it in Australia we found that this worked, and when we did it in Bulgaria, we found that something else worked, so let’s try this here’ because I’ve been involved in so many Dragons’ Den production, and on that account I think I probably have more working knowledge of this particular show than any member of the production team in each of the host countries, so I’m here to help and make sure that everything goes well, and I think it kind of guarantees a really good TV show”

Thank you Phil, we enjoin you to have a good time in Nigeria…and please do not return to the UK without sampling our culinary resources; we have quite a lot for you to choose from, but maybe you’d like to try Amala and Egusi soup for starters…after all, that’s the reason why Nigerians have great business ideas- our delicacies are simply inspiring!

Up next…“Unveiling of the dragons” …don’t go away, because I’m in this den just for you!

–The Den Sweeper