Ivory Coast’s StarNews Mobile secured $3 M funding from French football players, others

Three French professional football players are among the investors who have contributed US $3 million to StarNews Mobile, Africa’s top mobile video network, which is based in the Ivory Coast.

StarNews Mobile, which debuted in July 2017, is aimed at the general public and consists of a network of more than 50 mobile channels that provide celebrity-based content at affordable daily subscription prices. In collaboration with MTN and Moov, the startup made its debut in Ivory Coast. Since then, it has expanded to Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and South Africa.

For as little as US $0.10 per day, users can subscribe to the channel of their preferred celebrities via their provider. After subscribing, they get an SMS with a video link to watch daily exclusive videos. The operator, the content provider, and StarNews Mobile split the subscription fee revenue after that.

In addition to French football players Aurelien Tchouameni, Jules Kounde, and Mike Maignan of Excellence Sport Nation—who are most known for having played for Real Madrid, Barcelona, and AC Milan, respectively—Janngo Capital is leading the $3 million funding round. With this round, StarNews has now raised nearly $8 million in total.

“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.

“I am very excited and proud to back StarNews, the first media platform that supports African creators and tells the world the real African story,” said Fernand Tchouameni, spokesperson and investment advisor for Aurelien Tchouameni. “Being of Cameroonian descent, I can also see StarNews becoming a bridge to connect with the African diaspora, and I personally look forward to being on it.”