StarNews Mobile, Africa’s top mobile video network, based in Ivory Coast, has raised $3 million in funding from investors including three French professional players.
Janngo Capital led the funding round, which also included French football stars Aurelien Tchouameni, Jules Kounde, and Mike Maignan of Excellence Sport Nation, who played for Real Madrid, Barcelona, and AC Milan, respectively. With this round, StarNews has now raised over $8 million in total.
StarNews Mobile, which launched in July 2017, is aimed at the mass market with a network of over 50 mobile channels that offer celebrity-based content at inexpensive daily membership fees.
In collaboration with MTN and Moov, the firm made its debut in Ivory Coast. Since then, it has expanded to Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and South Africa.
“This funding will be pivotal in helping us empower more African creators, strengthening our dominant position in francophone Africa while quickly expanding into more strategic markets like Nigeria and Ghana. We take immense pride in the backing of Janngo, which team has proven experience building successful African startups, and the endorsement of these young prominent sports personalities of African descent who understand the value of the African audience and culture globally,” said Guy Kamgaing, CEO of StarNews Mobile.
“Africa’s creative industry is poised to grow by 4x by 2050 and generate up to US$20 billion GDP while creating 20 million jobs. StarNews is paving the way for this growth while empowering local African talent through a unique combination of scalable technology, local content, and top-tier partnerships. We are proud to lead this funding round to help unlock further growth, impact, and market expansion,” said Fatoumata Bâ, founder and executive chair of Janngo Capital.
For as little as US$0.10 per day, users can subscribe to the channel of their preferred celebrities via their provider.
After subscribing, customers get an SMS with a video link to watch daily exclusive videos.
The operator, the content supplier, and StarNews Mobile split the subscription fee earnings after that.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
Anka, an e-commerce platform based in the Ivory Coast, has raised $5 million
Bizao, a fintech startup based in the Ivory Coast, raises $8.2 million