Capacity Building for Yoruba Language Content Creators in the Digital Media Industry

The emergence of podcasting, social media video content, and streaming platforms presents new professional opportunities for Yoruba-language content creators, yet systematic capacity building to equip these creators with professional and linguistic skills remains limited. This study examines capacity building needs and strategies for Yoruba language content creators in Nigeria's digital media industry, drawing on data from content creators in Lagos and Ogun States, South West Nigeria. Using a professional needs assessment design, data were collected from 50 active Yoruba digital content creators through online surveys, in-depth interviews, and analysis of their published content. The study applies capacity building theory and media industry professional development frameworks to identify skill gaps and training priorities. Existing literature on digital content creation in African languages has addressed language vitality implications rather than the professional development needs of individual content creators. This study fills that practical gap. The research evaluates content creators' proficiency in standard Yoruba orthography and pronunciation, scriptwriting and narrative structuring skills, digital production competencies, audience engagement strategies, and knowledge of intellectual property and monetisation frameworks. Findings are expected to reveal high creative motivation among Yoruba content creators but significant skill gaps in scriptwriting quality, linguistic accuracy, and business model development. Recommendations will address the design of a specialised capacity building programme combining Yoruba language proficiency training with practical digital media production skills. Keywords: capacity building, Yoruba content creators, digital media, professional development, language industry.