StarNews Mobile raises first funds with the group Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P)

10 December 2020
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Abidjan, December 10 2020 - The African startup StarNews, specialized in the field of mobile video, achieves a first fundraising with Investisseurs & Partenaires, a pioneering impact investing group dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa, through its fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2.

A clear ambition: to become the leading mobile video platform focused on local content in Africa

StarNews started its activities in 2017 in Ivory Coast. The company is positioning itself in a unique market, specifically adapted to the African context to unlock the potential of the creation of mobile video content on the continent. StarNews was designed as a digital platform for creating, producing and distributing video content to mobile subscribers on various themes (celebrities, culture, cuisine, sport, humor, religion, beauty, events, etc.).

Guy Kamgaing, founder and director of the company, came to this conclusion: while the African mobile market is currently experiencing the fastest growth in the world, a large majority of African consumers unfortunately do not have access to relevant video content, due to a lack of offers adapted to the realities of the local market. A market that Guy Kamgaing knows well: this Cameroonian entrepreneur has over 20 years of experience in the mobile phone industry:

"Despite the widespread use of smartphones and ever-wider access to mobile Internet, value-added service offers are not very Africanized and even when they are, the content comes only from international players. It was necessary to highlight this rich and original local content and allow its players to monetize it appropriately. Hence the idea of a distribution platform deployed in partnership with mobile operators."

Now launched in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa, StarNews has established partnerships with large pan-African mobile operators such as MTN and Orange in order to distribute exclusive and quality video content directly to users who can subscribe through their mobile to the various channels offered. Monetization is one of the key issues of the model: the startup offers content creators a stable source of income by sharing the generated income. StarNews started out collaborating with local and international African celebrities such as Fally Ipupa, Serge Beynaud, Lady Ponce or Davido and has been focusing since 2019 on the development of new themes.

Une entreprise africaine à fort potentiel

StarNews carries out a first fundraising campaign with Investisseurs & Partenaires through its I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 fund , launched late 2017 to support the emergence of a new generation of responsible African businesses. The company is fully in line with the investment mandate of the fund, due to its unique and relevant positioning in a booming market and its strong impact on the promotion of African talents.

“We are proud to support a talented and experienced African entrepreneur who demonstrates a real commitment to deploy a pan-African and innovative solution. We share StarNews’ ambition to showcase African artists and to produce a greater diversity of quality local content with high added value for end users” explains Nouss Bih, Investment Manager at I&P, based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 continues to invest actively in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Madagascar, West Africa and East Africa. StarNews is the 9th investment of the fund. By 2022, IPAE 2 aims to finance some twenty additional African SMEs, with an investment ticket ranging from €300,000 to €3 million euros (2 billion FCFA).

About

Investisseurs & Partenaires

Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is a pioneering impact investing group entirely dedicated to financing and supporting start-ups and medium-sized enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa.

I&P was launched in 2002 by Patrice Hoppenot and is directed by Jean-Michel Severino since 2011. The team of approximately 90 people is based in 8 African hubs (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger and Senegal), in Paris and in Washington D.C.

I&P has partnered with more than 120 companies operating in some fifteen African countries in a wide range of sectors. I&P brings long-term financing as well as strategic, managerial and technical support. As an impact investor, I&P’s mission is to maximize the societal impact of its partner companies and contribute to dynamic and inclusive growth in Africa.

Contacts

Nouss Bih • Investment Manager, Ivory Coast • n.bih@ietp.com

Clémence Bourrin • PR and Communication Officer • c.bourrin@ietp.com

Nicolas Teisserenc • Agence Poinciana • nicolas@poinciana.co

StarNews

StarNews is a network of mobile video channels that gives access to amazing content thanks to strong distribution and marketing partnerships with pan-African mobile operators such as MTN, Orange and Moov.

Contacts

Khadija Silue • Marketing Manager • khadija@starnewsmobile.com

Guillaume Bolla • Communicatoin Manager • guillaume@starnewsmobile.com

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