The first event that drew my attention to Anthill Studios, a media production facility, was its collaboration with Prime Video in January 2022. The collaboration was an unprecedented episode in the Nigerian media and entertainment space.

The second occurrence that fascinated me about this thriving multimedia organization was that its movie – King of Thieves, became a huge box office success, grossing over 320 million Naira at the box office in 2022.

The movie’s success pitched Afrocentric content (Yoruba folk tale) on an enviable zenith. Movies from Anthill Studios that rank highly among the highest-grossing Nollywood movies in the box office include King of Thieves (2022), Prophetess (2021), Hey You! (2022), Elevator Baby (2019), Day of Destiny (2021), and Progressive Tailor’s Club (2021).

According to my discovery, the reason Anthill Studios is towering above many other great media organizations in the African continent is not only because of its impressive array of skillful professionals (who are some of the best in the industry). It is also because at the heart of this thriving organization’s modus operandi is also a culture of respect and consistent implementation of family-mindedness.

Organizational culture is generally understood as all of a company’s beliefs, values, and attitudes, and how these influence the behaviour of its employees. Culture affects how people experience an organization.

My first encounter visiting Anthill Studios was with Mr. Samuel; the gentleman in charge of the security duties. He was such a pleasant man, reflecting what in my opinion is the bedrock of Anthill: professionalism, excellence, family, and respect. I was particularly impressed with the effortless culture of respect cum excellence that I saw. Another man that made such an indelible impact on me was Daniel, I believe Daniel was also motivated by this same culture of family and respect, as he was of great help in making me feel welcomed at Anthill.

Anthill is altogether shades of brilliance, this was affirmed by the testaments of the duo of Kennedy, a Set Designer and 3D Environment Designer in Anthill Studios; and Haddasah, who started as a front desk officer but later advanced to becoming assistant to the Human Resource Head. When Hadassah was asked about her experience at Anthill Studios, her words reaffirmed my impression: “It’s been progressive for me, it’s been fun. Anthill is family to me.” she said.
“When I joined as a front desk officer, I just knew I had a voice and a place here, I knew I belong here. The work culture here is unique and dynamic, I had worked in the corporate environment before joining Anthill, but my experience here has been mindblowing. If you’re in a place where you’re welcomed, where you don’t feel less of yourself, you will want to be part of that system. This is the place that welcomes growth, and not only that, Anthill gives you all you need to grow as well.” she concluded.

Kennedy’s testament of Anthill Studios also further affirmed my observation. Kennedy elucidated his experience with Anthill Studios as very transformative. “If I have younger ones, I wouldn’t hesitate to refer them to Anthill. Anthill is a place where you can come in as a novice, however, the culture of this organization will transform such novice into a star. I’ve been part of many organizations, but I’ve not seen any that are like Anthill. In Anthill there is a hierarchy, nevertheless, everyone is treated as a family. Once you come in, you will align because the atmosphere will welcome you not as a worker, but as family.”

When he was asked about the work culture and atmosphere, he said: “Joining this company has widened my scope of how I do whatever I need to do. Anthill has given me an edge by always providing the basic tools needed to execute the task. That is my reason for saying Anthill is far better than every media organization I have worked with. I have never had any reason to regret joining Anthill.” Kennedy had worked with top media organizations as a freelancer before joining Anthill Studios.

Although these two individuals are working with different departments in the media and multimedia organization, however, they both attested to the culture of excellence, respect, and family that I observed firsthand.

In the words of Vince Lombardi, “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” Niyi Akinmolayan, the founder and Creative Director of Anthill Studios is, without a doubt, a man that is on a ceaseless chase after perfection, and that is the rationality behind the excellent culture and output of Anthill Studios.

I wholeheartedly agree with The Guardian’s headline about Anthill Studios that reads: “Anthill studios set to displace Disney with Afrocentric family entertainment.”