Three French footballers have teamed up to help African creators earn more money.
Jules Koundé, Aurélien Tchouameni, and Mike Maignan have all contributed to a $3 million pre-Series A round for Star News Mobile, a creator monetisation platform for Africans.
The fund round was led by Janngo Capital.
Launched in 2017 by Guy Kamgaing, Star News offers monetisation options for African content creators through distribution partnerships with major telecommunications operators like MTN and Orange.
The five-year-old mobile video network is currently live in five African countries—Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, and Benin—and has 4 million active subscribers and works with 120 content creators.
In 2022, it paid out $1 million to creators. Star News also supports creators with funding and customer acquisition. The company aims to expand to 11 countries by 2024 while strengthening its position in Nigeria and Ghana
Star News is among other start-ups on the continent tapping into the growing potential of the creator economy in Africa. According to a recent report by Partech Africa, the African creator economy is expected to reach $10 billion by 2025.
