French soccer players back African mobile video network StarNews Mobile in $3M round
Summary
As previously highlighted, a significant portion of the companys user acquisition comes through telecom operators, as its a seamless process for, say, MTN to send messages encouraging its customers to sign up to Star News to watch social media personalities, including music artists, comedians and influencers. Furthermore, the company sponsors concerts, and at one point, it attracted an impressive 500,000 subscribers by offering them the chance to attend a Fally Ipupa concert.These initiatives highlight the power of strong partnerships, where telcos take the lead, followed by content creators or show organizers, Kamgaing, an ex-PwC consultant, remarked. The fresh injection of capital serves as a significant uplift for Africas creator economy, an underserved sector in African tech (despite that startups like e-commerce-focused Selar are holding their own). This funding will equip the Los Angeles-based company, currently with 40 employees, to better support its creators and gradually enhance payouts in the coming years, a crucial step in bolstering the regions creative industry.Additionally, in a press statement, Kamgaing outlined the startups expansion plans, noting its intent to strengthen its dominant presence in Francophone Africa while quickly expanding across strategic markets like Nigeria and Ghana. Other notable investors, such as soccer players Aur\xe9lien Tchouam\xe9ni of Real Madrid, Jules Kound\xe9 of Barcelona and Mike Maignan from AC Milan, all affiliated with athlete representation agency Excellence Sport Nation, participated in the round.