Podcasts about irokotv

April Greetings Glocal Citizens! As you listen to this week's episode you may catch a hint of showers as part of the sound track for this conversation with long-time collaborator, Takoradi, Ghana's own Francis Brown. As the saying goes, showers bring flowers and in this two-part conversation we're definitely cultivating a bouquet of beauty and insights. Francis is one of the first professionals that I worked with when I arrived in Ghana; at that times he was a student at Ghana's National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) (https://nafti.edu.gh/p/). Since then, his career has flourished as founder and creative director of AnimaxFYB Studios in Ghana. He is an award-winning filmmaker trained in a number of different cinematic mediums, and has over ten years experience in the audio-visual industry. He is a member of the International Academy of Arts and Sciences (EMMY), a Jury at MIPCOM in Cannes and a frequent speaker on different film and television forums around the world. He was shortlisted for the 42nd Student Academy Awards (Oscars), won Best Animation Film at the Africa International Film Festival 2016 (AFFRIF), Best Creative Artist 2017 at the Black British Entertainment Awards, animator of the year at the 2017 Ghana UK Based Awards (GUBA) and also Best Animation at the 2018 Ghana Movie Awards. In 2019, face2face Africa named him one of the five African animators who can give their Hollywood counterparts a run for the money. In 2021, his short 3D animated film ‘ROOM 5' was nominated at Annecy International Animation Film Festival making him the only West African director to be nominated for the year and one of four films from Africa. He is a regular feature at Meta Cinema Forum, the largest Africa and Middle East film and cinema convention. He is also a planning committee member and artistic director of the Afrotino music festival where Latino and African performers will be meeting in a series of cross-country concerts in Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico. Where to find Francis? animaxfybstudios.com (https://animaxfybstudios.com) On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-y-brown-90825426/) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/francis_y_brown/?hl=en) On Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/animaxfybstudios) On YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWeL-iNGMEWjuoDLegkWxIw) What's Francis watching? Afro Samurai (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro_Samurai) The Boondocks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boondocks_(TV_series)) Tales of the Black Freighter and Watchmen (https://watchmen.fandom.com/wiki/Tales_of_the_Black_Freighter) SWAT Kats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWAT_Kats:_The_Radical_Squadron) Jonny Quest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Quest_(TV_series)) Other topics of interest: About Takoradi, Ghana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekondi-Takoradi#:~:text=It%20prospered%20from%20a%20railroad,British%20aircraft%20destined%20for%20Egypt.) Watch Mmofra (https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08KNP1H7S/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r)! Koliko Animation Academy (https://www.gobelins-school.com/animated-filmmaking/programmes/summer-schools/3d-character-animation) How to use “Omo” (https://youtu.be/Ukj90pnSefc?si=tdibaZP3Os70bmtQ) About DCI theaters (https://www.dcimovies.com) iRokoTV (https://irokotv.com) ShowMax (https://www.showmax.com/gh?) Cinema in Ghana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Ghana) Special Guest: Francis Y. Brown.

April Greetings Glocal Citizens! As you listen to this week's episode you may catch a hint of showers as part of the sound track for this conversation with long-time collaborator, Takoradi, Ghana's own Francis Brown. As the saying goes, showers bring flowers and in this two-part conversation we're definitely cultivating a bouquet of beauty and insights. Francis is one of the first professionals that I worked with when I arrived in Ghana; at that times he was a student at Ghana's National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) (https://nafti.edu.gh/p/). Since then, his career has flourished as founder and creative director of AnimaxFYB Studios in Ghana. He is an award-winning filmmaker trained in a number of different cinematic mediums, and has over ten years experience in the audio-visual industry. He is a member of the International Academy of Arts and Sciences (EMMY), a Jury at MIPCOM in Cannes and a frequent speaker on different film and television forums around the world. He was shortlisted for the 42nd Student Academy Awards (Oscars), won Best Animation Film at the Africa International Film Festival 2016 (AFFRIF), Best Creative Artist 2017 at the Black British Entertainment Awards, animator of the year at the 2017 Ghana UK Based Awards (GUBA) and also Best Animation at the 2018 Ghana Movie Awards. In 2019, face2face Africa named him one of the five African animators who can give their Hollywood counterparts a run for the money. In 2021, his short 3D animated film ‘ROOM 5' was nominated at Annecy International Animation Film Festival making him the only West African director to be nominated for the year and one of four films from Africa. He is a regular feature at Meta Cinema Forum, the largest Africa and Middle East film and cinema convention. He is also a planning committee member and artistic director of the Afrotino music festival where Latino and African performers will be meeting in a series of cross-country concerts in Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico. Where to find Francis? animaxfybstudios.com (https://animaxfybstudios.com) On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/francis-y-brown-90825426/) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/francis_y_brown/?hl=en) On Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/animaxfybstudios) On YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWeL-iNGMEWjuoDLegkWxIw) What's Francis watching? Afro Samurai (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro_Samurai) The Boondocks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boondocks_(TV_series)) Tales of the Black Freighter and Watchmen (https://watchmen.fandom.com/wiki/Tales_of_the_Black_Freighter) SWAT Kats (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWAT_Kats:_The_Radical_Squadron) Jonny Quest (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Quest_(TV_series)) Other topics of interest: About Takoradi, Ghana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sekondi-Takoradi#:~:text=It%20prospered%20from%20a%20railroad,British%20aircraft%20destined%20for%20Egypt.) Watch Mmofra (https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08KNP1H7S/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r)! Koliko Animation Academy (https://www.gobelins-school.com/animated-filmmaking/programmes/summer-schools/3d-character-animation) How to use “Omo” (https://youtu.be/Ukj90pnSefc?si=tdibaZP3Os70bmtQ) About DCI theaters (https://www.dcimovies.com) iRokoTV (https://irokotv.com) ShowMax (https://www.showmax.com/gh?) Cinema in Ghana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Ghana) Special Guest: Francis Y. Brown.

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, we discuss the hot topics in the African tech space.The stories: Nigeria's central bank debits banks Google to launch its first African Cloud region in South Africa Increased Uber fares in Lagos Nigerian government sues Meta Nigeria's re-election to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) To advertise or promote your brand, visit this link or send an email to business@techpoint.africaExplore the fintech in everything at The Fintech Summit 2022Timestamps01:09 - Nigeria's central bank debits banks09:38 - Google to launch its first African Cloud region in South Africa19:30 - Uber fares to increase in Lagos23:40 - Nigerian government sues Meta29:28 - Nigeria re-elected to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)Useful links Why is Nigeria’s central bank debiting commercial banks? Google to launch its first African Cloud region in South Africa Uber fares in Lagos are about to increase by 18% FG sues Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta over adverts, demands N30bn If you want a free and open Internet, pay attention to Nigeria’s role with this relatively unknown UN agency 11 critical questions on the leaked NITDA bill; a tussle for more power? Everything you need to know about Nigeria’s Social Media Bill and what you can do about it Nigeria plans to regulate online platforms Nigerian broadcasting agency seeks to regulate exclusive/original local content on Netflix, iROKOtv, PayTV This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Michael MadumereEmail us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa for more stories.Music - Beach by MBB

In der Rubrik “Investments & Exits” begrüßen wir heute Jenny Dreier, Investment Manager bei EQT Ventures. Jenny hat die Runde von Zazuu und Preply kommentiert: Das auf Afrika fokussierte Fintech-Unternehmen Zazuu konnte 2 Millionen US-Dollar einsammeln, die es dem Unternehmen ermöglichen wird, ein robusteres Überweisungsangebot für in der Diaspora lebende Menschen aufzubauen. An der Finanzierungsrunde von Zazuu beteiligten sich die panafrikanischen Investoren Launch Africa und Founders Factory Africa, Hoaq Club, ODBA VC, Jonomi Ventures, der britische Rapper Tinie Tempah, der Gründer und CEO von iROKOtv, Jason Njoku, und die Geschäftsführerin von Kuda, Babs Ogundeyi. Zazuu hat sich von einem Chatbot, der Nutzer in Facebook- und Telegram-Gruppen über die täglichen Tarife informierte, zu einem von der Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lizenzierten Unternehmen im Vereinigten Königreich mit Nutzern in acht Ländern in Nordamerika und Europa entwickelt. Preply, ein Marktplatz auf dem Sprachlehrer und potenzielle Sprachschüler für Online-Kurse zusammenkommen, hat eine Finanzierungsrunde in Höhe von 50 Millionen US-Dollar abgeschlossen. Dabei handelt es sich um eine Serie C. Das frische Kapital wird verwendet, um die Technologie weiterzuentwickeln, die es für den Betrieb der Plattform einsetzt, sowie weitere spezialisierte Inhalte für seine Tutoren zu entwickeln. Owl Ventures führt die Runde an, mit früheren Geldgebern wie Diligent Capital, Hoxton Ventures, Educapital, Evli Growth Partners und anderen Investoren wie Przemyslaw Gacek, Mitbegründer von Grupa Pracuj, Swisscom Ventures und Orbit Capital. Gegründet wurde Preply von Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn und Serge Lukyanov. Nothing Phone: https://de.nothing.tech/pages/phone-1

This week has been an eventful one for the African tech ecosystem; from possible policies to CSI Miami-like moves, we had quite a bit to discuss on today's Techpoint Africa Podcast. 1:28 - Lagos government to adopt Startup Bill 13:11 - NITDA's code of practice for online platforms 23:08 - Kenya launches $34.1m forensic lab Useful links Lagos to adopt Nigeria Startup Bill at state level  Startup Acts: Can the decade’s sexiest law save Nigeria’s thriving but uncertain startup ecosystem? Everything you need to know about Nigeria’s Social Media Bill and what you can do about it Nigerian broadcasting agency seeks to regulate exclusive/original local content on Netflix, iROKOtv, PayTV Uhuru Kenyatta launches forensic lab, ends two decade wait for change This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and edited by Múyìwá Mátùlúkò Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa for more stories.

African culture and content is taking over the world - from Afrobeats and amapiano, to Nollywood and Netflix originals, to fashion. To what degree can Africans monetize their creativity not only on the continent but globally? To what extent can Africans, as owners of culture and intellectual property, participate in the upside? And if content has been largely an export product, to date, how do *we* develop the local creator ecosystem, as well?05:11 - A brief history of the creator economy. From aggregation theory to 1000 true fans.07:59 - We start with the platforms, and TikTok's Boniswa Sidwaba.11:11 - A challenge with creator monetization for African creators is the value of their audience to an advertiser. We hear from YouTuber Tayo Aina, with a cameo from another YouTuber, Hank Green.15:33 - Because of limited monetization opportunities from the platforms directly, creators ink brand partnerships and sell direct to their audience. 19:49 - The challenge with monetizing an audience directly in a market like Nigeria is the poor macroeconomic situation. So content remains largely an export product, says Iroko's Jason Njoku. 23:17 - But the local fanbase is still incredibly important, and the local infrastructure still needs to be built. It's what Mr Eazi is trying to do for the music industry. 29:22 - How do we make sure value accrues back to the markets from which the content comes?31:42 - Our retrospective conversation between The Flip's Justin Norman and Sayo Folawiyo.Resources referenced in this episode:What is Aggregation Theory? by Ben Thompson1000 True Fans by Kevin KellySo...TikTok Sucks by Hank GreenTayo Aina's YouTube Creator AcademyThis season is sponsored by MFS Africa.All this season, we're exploring value chains. And in the payments value chain, no fintech has a wider reach on the continent than MFS Africa. Through their network of over 180 partners - MNOs, banks, NGOs, fintechs, and global enterprises - MFS Africa's API hub makes connects over 320 million mobile wallets across 30+ countries in Africa.

In This Episode: I was born and raised in Africa, and over the years, I've realized that as Africans, we tend to prefer foreign products to our own products. We would rather spend thousands and millions on something made on another continent, and honestly, I think this is a habit we need to shake off. How do we expect our economy to grow when we keep pumping our money into other foreign countries? Mentioned In This Episode: Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/ HBO: https://www.hbo.com/ Disney Plus: https://www.disneyplus.com/ Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ STARZ: https://www.starz.com/ DSTV: https://www.dstvafrica.com/ IrokoTV: https://irokotv.com/ Nevada Bridge TV: https://www.nevadabridgetv.com/ iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/ Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ Spotify: https://www.spotify.com/ iTunes: https://www.apple.com/itunes/ AFKloud: https://www.afkloud.com/ ADIVA Magazine: https://adivanetworks.com/adiva-magazine/ Essence: https://www.essence.com/ Cosmopolitan: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/ Vogue: https://www.vogue.com/ Connect: Email: excusemyafrican@gmail.com Website: http://www.excusemyafrican.com/ Stella Damasus Blog: http://www.stelladamasusblog.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/excusemyafrican Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excusemyafrican/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excusemyafrican --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/excusemyafrican/support

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about IROKO TV, the Nollywood video platform, we'll give some background on the Nigerian cinema industry, talk about IROKO's founding, early history, different businesses over time and our views on its future outlook. This episode was recorded on Nov 15, 2020. Companies discussed: IROKO TV, Rok studios, iROKING, Netflix & Spark Capital Business concepts discussed: Entertainment Technology, Backward integration, media distribution, Streaming Video on Demand (SVOD) & African streaming video Conversation highlights: (03:10) - Why we’re talking about Iroko TV (03:40) - Market context for Iroko founding: Nollywood, media consumption, etc (17:02) - Jason Njoku and Iroko TV: founding and early history (27:05) - Iroko TV and fundraising (29:03) - Spark Capital - investments and exits (30:05) - ROK Studios - founding, growth and exit / closure (34:20) - iROKING - music label (40:00) - Iroko TV 2015 pivot to mobile and focus on product (45:25) - Iroko TV 2020 layoffs and pivot to NA / Europe (52:20) - Iroko TV and competitive landscape (59:20) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:04:15) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:10:00) - Recommendations, small wins and open questions Olumide’s recommendations, small wins & open questions: Recommendation: "Earnings calls" by Borsa Finance --> It's earning season! Great app to listen to earnings calls Recommendation: Maximum achievement (by Brian Tracy) Small win: Standing during all meetings experiment (going well so far) Other content: Jason's TED talk: Failing All the way to success Other content: Jason's talk: Be Experimental & Find New ways to create things (1m to 10m) Open question: What lessons did you learn from Jason's approach to running IrokoTV? Bankole’s recommendations, small wins & open questions: Recommendation: Shape up - A book about a differentiated approach for product teams to ship high quality products often. Recommendation: Trust The Process - Resignation from Sam Hinkie, former GM for the Philadelphia 76ers Small win: Lots of walking first thing in the morning Open question: Is there hope for an African content business? Or are African consumers going to be subsumed by the global behemoths e.g., Netflix or Spotify? We’d love to hear from you. If you have feedback, topics you’d like to hear, or just want to say hello, please email info@afrobility.com Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com

Watch today's episode on YouTube. https://youtu.be/ccCrrqp0twE Read all Techpoint articles referenced on today's episode here. https://techpoint.africa/topics/techpoint-africa-podcast-40/ Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Listen every Friday at 8 AM (WAT). You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, TuneIn or anywhere else you get your podcasts. Visit www.techpoint.africa for more stories.

Watch today's episode on YouTube. https://youtu.be/ccCrrqp0twE Read all Techpoint articles referenced on today's episode here. https://techpoint.africa/topics/techpoint-africa-podcast-40/ Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Listen every Friday at 8 AM (WAT). You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, TuneIn or anywhere else you get your podcasts. Visit www.techpoint.africa for more stories.

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast: Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy: What's in a name change? https://techpoint.africa/2019/10/28/ministry-communications-digital-economy/ Jason Njoku is taking iROKOtv public. https://techpoint.africa/2019/10/25/irokotv-is-going-public/ Kobo360 is planning an expansion into America, Asia and the Middle East. https://techpoint.africa/2019/10/31/kobo360-global-south-expansion-plans/ Plugs: 1. Attend Techpoint Startup School https://school.techpoint.africa/ 2. Mobility & Logistic startups overthrowing fintech https://intelligence.techpoint.africa/form.php?report=NSFR2019Q3 Listen every Friday at 8 AM (WAT). You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, TuneIn or anywhere else you get your podcasts. Visit www.techpoint.africa for more stories.

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast: Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy: What’s in a name change? https://techpoint.africa/2019/10/28/ministry-communications-digital-economy/ Jason Njoku is taking iROKOtv public. https://techpoint.africa/2019/10/25/irokotv-is-going-public/ Kobo360 is planning an expansion into America, Asia and the Middle East. https://techpoint.africa/2019/10/31/kobo360-global-south-expansion-plans/ Plugs: 1. Attend Techpoint Startup School https://school.techpoint.africa/ 2. Mobility & Logistic startups overthrowing fintech https://intelligence.techpoint.africa/form.php?report=NSFR2019Q3 Listen every Friday at 8 AM (WAT). You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, TuneIn or anywhere else you get your podcasts. Visit www.techpoint.africa for more stories.

In episode 29 we spoke with international business expert Fritz Charles about Africa. Fritz graduated from the top business school in the world (Wharton at UPenn), he worked as a trader for the infamous Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers when he was 22. After Lehman went bankrupt he worked for the NBA where he spearheaded NBATV in Africa. After that, he became the head of growth for iROKOtv which is known as the Netflix of Africa. We covered the importance of people of Investing and being connected to Africa, Kenya’s mobile banking success story, the NBA’s new African league, Afro Beats, Nigeria’s film industry, and China’s economic influence on the continent. Guest IG: @fritzchain Book Tip: China’s Second Continent --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app · Trainual: Trainual is a software that helps you document what you do, so you can easily delegate and train others. https://trainual.com/freemonth/ Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/earnyourleisure/support

Fritz Charles’s life is legendary. He graduated from the top business school in the world (Wharton at UPenn), he worked as a trader for the infamous Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers when he was 22. During his time at Lehman, he traded a billion dollars a day in complicated swap derivatives. After Lehman went bankrupt he worked for the NBA and Barclays. After that, he went international and became the head of growth for iROKOtv which is known as the Netflix of Africa. He then became a cryptocurrency expert. He founded Coin Gamma which is a cryptocurrency media platform. He currently serves as the director of product growth of Token Tax which is a cryptocurrency tax company. In episode 28 we covered everything you need to know about bitcoin and cryptocurrency. We also covered the inside world of investment banking and broke down the global financial collapse of 2008. Click this link to support the podcast https://www.patreon.com/earnyourleisure Guest IG: @fritzchain Book tip: Bitcoin Billionaires --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app · Trainual: Trainual is a software that helps you document what you do, so you can easily delegate and train others. https://trainual.com/freemonth/ Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/earnyourleisure/support

On episode 47 the Cryptology Crew sits down with Fritz Charles from CoinGamma podcast to discuss his story growing up in Queens; NY and beginning his career as an Equity Derivavtive Trader at Lehman Brothers and his transition to techn9logy and media which led him to working with iROKOtv, the NBA, Interactive Corp and HOBD at TokenTax. Fritz is also the founder of Coin Gamma which is a blockchain media platform. Follow Fritz on IG at @CoinGamma and @f_e_charles on Twitter. Also check out his podcast and blog at www.coingamma.com

Jason Njoku is the co-founder at IrokoTv, a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand. It is one of Africa's first mainstream online movie streaming websites, giving instant access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles.   Jason is who you can refer to as a serial entrepreneur. With several failed businesses under his belt, he went ahead to create what is largely regarded as the “Netflix of Africa”   Jason founded IrokoTv alongside his friend and then flatmate, Bastian Gotter. See Bastian's interview on IrokoTv here.   This episode is the first of 2-part conversation I had with Jason at his office in Lagos, as part of the mini-series on African video  on demand platform. In this episode you'll learn: When IrokoTv started out, they had no competition. How did they cope with the sudden influx of players in their market? How they had to innovate faster than competitors to maintain their lead in the market What is the importance of winning for small companies? What does winning mean for small companies and why should they focus on it during the initial stages? IrokoTv has raised $40million so far, and yet they have been losing money constanly. According to Jason, Angel investors who invested $80k got bought out for $2.4million. How was this possible? How to raise money from four different investors Why Netflix coming to Nigeria has no impact on their revenue About Jason's dream to IPO IrokoTv In 2015, they had to let some staff go. Find out why and what they had to do to fix the problem Jason thinks IrokoTv would have died in 2015 if certain action had not been taken. What is it? Why he thinks the FinTech space in Africa is overheated The future of tech ecosystem in Nigeria People in early stage companies have a massive valuation disconnect from reality. And more

Jason Njoku is the co-founder at IrokoTv, a web platform that provides paid-for Nigerian films on-demand. It is one of Africa's first mainstream online movie streaming websites, giving instant access to over 5,000 Nollywood film titles.   Jason is who you can refer to as a serial entrepreneur. With several failed businesses under his belt, he went ahead to create what is largely regarded as the “Netflix of Africa”   Jason founded IrokoTv alongside his friend and then flatmate, Bastian Gotter. See Bastian's interview on IrokoTv here.   This episode is the first of 2-part conversation I had with Jason at his office in Lagos, as part of the mini-series on African video  on demand platform.   In this episode you'll learn: About the early beginnings of IrokoTv and what brought about the idea The moment Jason realized he was unemployable and set out to run his own businesses About his struggles growing up and keeping himself n the university. How he became independent as a student The different businesses he tried and why they failed How his investment in hotels.ng helped shape the business Jason made one of the classic mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make. He built a platform before finding out if people wanted the product or not. The importance of company culture The initial revenue model of IrokoTV How were they able to compete with the thriving piracy market on Nollywood movies? Why they raised money even though they were making a lot of money How they spent the $3million they got from Tiger Global in 5 months

Bastian Gotter is the co-founder of Iroko TV, one of the earliest, most successful and largest video on demand platform for Nigerian movies.   Bastian founded the business alongside with his university flat-mate, Jason Njoku, who is the CEO of the company, and a later guest in this show.   This is not Bastian and Jason Njoku's first project together. In mid-2010, Bastian invested in several businesses that Jason was running in Manchester, England, many of which failed. But they stuck together as partners and Bastian invested in Iroko TV after Jason started it, and he then moved to Lagos and joined as a full-time co-founder.   This episode is the first of 2-part conversation I had with Bastian in Cape Town, as part of the mini-series on African video  on demand platform   In the second part of this episode you'll learn: The current challenges IrokoTV is facing How Nigeria is becoming close to the west in their content consumption Bastian thinks the answer to business growth is sub saharan Africa “Always”. Why does he seem to think so? Why he thinks you cannot make a lot of money in the sub-saharan African VoD market The importance of timing when launching a new business. How Spark was created on the back of Iroko and how they invested in companies like hotels.ng, tolet.com.ng, drinks.ng and  paystack. Why and how irokoTv raised money every year Why he left IrokoTv. (He still sits on the board and is a shareholder) What he is doing now. And more

This episode, I speak with Toonna Obi-Okoye, a Nigerian living in Edmonton. He works in IT but what he really wanted to talk to me about were his passions for film and music. During our interview, Toonna describes his childhood in Nigeria and teaches us a bit about the three main tribes of the nation. We chat about hip-hop and the musical influence of Nigerian afro-beat, Bollywood, and the difficulties that creatives stumble upon in Nigeria. We also touch a bit upon the 419 internet scam and the effects of oil & gas in Nigeria.

On this episode, we unpacked the emergence of Video on Demand platform popularly known as VOD across Africa such as Irokotv, Showmax, Netflix, Vodacom Play, ReelAfrican. Our Studio guest is the executive manager of ReelAfrican Mr Thabo Dabengwa. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

One of the more surprising things that came out of a recent conversation Andile Masuku had with BT’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Oliver Fortuin is his answer when asked (somewhat unfairly) what disruptive trend could potentially render BT redundant in the next decade. His answer? The trend towards consolidated media ownership. Listen in to this week’s African Tech Round-up to hear Oliver unpack that answer. Meanwhile, the French Urban television network Trace TV’s acquisition of Kenyan, pan-African VOD service Buni.tv made headlines last week. Buni.tv is believed to be one of the largest African VOD services offering home-grown content. Trace TV has revealed that this acquisition is part of their plans to gear up for the launch of a VOD platform called Trace Play later in 2016. Now, it does seem that aside from keeping an eye out for competitors like iROKOtv, DSTV and Netflix, aspiring VOD service providers like Trace TV might do well to anticipate the moves being made by the likes of South Africa’s Telkom, Zimbabwe’s Econet Group and offshore players like BT— because by Oliver’s own admission, incumbents like BT don’t plan to quietly “stay in their lane” and watch the world pass them by. Music Credits: Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

With so few high-flying start-up successes in Africa’s tech eco-system, one has to wonder just how alarmed we should get when word of job cuts and other such cost-cutting measures starts to dominate headlines. After all, this sort of thing happens in business all the time! That said, why does it seem like Nigerian startups are having a particularly hard time at the moment? Following signs of distress showing up at the countries startup poster children, Jumia and iROKOtv in recent weeks, Nigerian daily deals site, Dealdey, has reportedly sacked 60% of its workforce. Curiously, the news of this broke on a popular Kenyan blog, courtesy of “sources familiar with the matter”. In our discussion on the African The Round-up this week, Tefo Mohapi and Andile Masuku will briefly discuss what could be fuelling this apparent season of hardship on Nigeria’s tech startup scene. Also, listen in for all the most important digital, tech and innovation news from the past week. Additional Music Credits: Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

This week’s African Tech Round-up is chock-full of important digital, tech and innovation news from across the African continent— not least, the unfortunate rumoured in-fighting and financial distress at Jason Njoku’s media startup, iROKO Partners. Also, we’re happy to have our content producer, Peter “The Enigma” Peele back from a a hectic trip to Dubai where he attended GITEX Technology Week 2015. We managed to convince him to jump on the mic with us this week and share some highlights from his trip. Meanwhile, Tefo Mohapi not only delivered a talk and facilitated a discussion at the the Thabo Mbeki Leadership Institute’s Leadership Conference this past week (the dude got to even have dinner with former South African President Thabo Mbeki himself), but also attended the Brand Africa 100 Awards. Be sure to catch him giving us the low-low on all that in this week’s episode. And finally, Andile Masuku's back from a week-long leave of absence due to eye surgery he had done on his left eye. All said, it's been a super-busy week for the team at the African Tech Round-up. Additional Music Credits: Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

The race is still on to discover the formula for successfully distributing digital content in Africa. In a recent blogpost, Jason Njoku, the outspoken founder of iRokoTV, announced that his company would soon retire the desktop version of their platform (for African users) to concentrate on building a mobile application that he says will better service the African consumer. The article is basically an eloquent admission that iRokoTV's efforts to "win Lagos" and then conquer the rest of Africa have so far failed. In this week's African Tech Round-up, iAfrikan Executive Editor, Tefo Mohapi and I discuss the challenges that home-grown content streaming platforms like iRokoTV, Wabona, Tuluntulu and others may be facing in their attempts to profitably deliver digital entertainment content to African consumers. While YouTube's growing success in Africa is proof that consumers have an appetite for content streaming, it seems that African platforms are yet to crack the code for how to best to get in on the action. As usual, be sure to catch up on all the week's biggest tech, digital and innovation news from across Africa: --Find out more about a cutting-edge medical innovation that has led to the city of St Louis, Missouri awarding their highest honour to a Nigerian-born scientist, --Get details on how Facebook plans to roll out its Internet.org platform in South Africa in partnership with mobile network operator, Cell C, --Learn why Nigerian e-commerce platform, Konga's acquisition of mobile banking and payment provider, Zinternet is such a smart move, and --Discover what we found odd about Twitter's recent talent call for young Africans. Music Credits: All Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/