StarNews Mobile - Afrikan Heroes

Cameroon’s StarNews Mobile Hits 4 Million Users In 5 Years

November 20, 2022

StarNews Mobile, a Cameroonian media startup that provides a network of mobile video channels and allows celebrities and businesses to monetize their fan bases in Africa through exclusive videos, has announced that it has reached 4 million active users throughout its existing markets, both free and premium.

According to the company’s statement, around 500,000 unique active users interact with its platform on a daily basis and receive daily exclusive content from the creators they follow, while another 3.5 million users receive free content intermittently for 30 days.

“Over the course of 2022, over 10 million users have signed up and accessed our platform and that is our actual captive audience. Furthermore, over 90% of our users are located in Ivory Coast and Cameroon, which totals about 40 million mobile subscribers. This means StarNews Mobile has captured the interest of over 25% of the market, a very good indication of our potential,” the startup stated.

A Look At What StarNews Does

Founded in 2017 in Cote D’ivoire, StarNews Mobile is the project of Cameroonian Guy Kamgaing who has over 20 years of experience in the mobile telecom industry.

“I started in January 2016, with $ 250,000 in equity to deploy the platform and carry out the first proof of concept,” said Kamgaing. “At the beginning of 2018, I raised $100,000 as part of a “Friends & Family Round”; and during the summer of 2019, I raised an additional 600,000 dollars from Business Angels based in California.”

The startup which is present in four countries, is a network of mobile video channels that allows celebrities and brands to monetize their fan bases in Africa, the world’s fastest growing mobile market. StarNews Mobile works with popular local and international stars such as Davido (Nigeria — 12.7M followers), Fally Ipupa (Congo — 3M followers) or Sauti Sol (Kenya — 2.2M followers) to create exclusive and addictive short videos that fans are eager to pay for.

The startup also allows creators to earn new income and advertisers to reach their target audiences. To date, the company has also around 40 employees spread across Canada, the United States, India, France and Africa.

Available in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo and South Africa, StarNews is working with large pan-African mobile operators such as MTN, Orange and MOOV in order to distribute exclusive and quality video content directly to users.

Cameroon’s StarNews Mobile Joins Snapchat’s Yellow Accelerator, To Secure $150k

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Cameroon’s StarNews Mobile Joins Snapchat’s Yellow Accelerator, To Secure $150k

March 5, 2021

Cameroonian media startup StarNews Mobile, which offers a network of mobile video channels and allows celebrities and brands to monetize their fan bases in Africa through exclusive videos, has announced that it was selected by Snap Inc. (owner of the Snapchat and Bitmoji applications as well as Spectacles glasses, equipped with a camera) to benefit from the fourth edition of its Yellow Accelerator program, a funding and incubation program launched in May 2018 for entrepreneurs working on the border between content creation and technology. The 2021 edition will be held exclusively online.

*Guy Kamgaing, founder and CEO of StarNews Mobile*

“StarNews Mobile was developed with African content creators and fans in mind. Our company is growing exponentially as we continue to make deals with the biggest telecom operators, with artists and entertainment networks in the United States and Africa, ”said Guy Kamgaing, founder and CEO of StarNews Mobile who is delighted to have been selected to join the Yellow Accelerator program of Snap Inc.

The Yellow Accelerator will invest $150,000 (approximately 81.4 million CFA francs) in StarNews Mobile and offer StarNews Mobile a 14-week training program to improve its strategy, growth, fundraising and develop mentorship. This 14 week program ends on May 07, 2021 with a virtual demonstration day scheduled for April 29, 2021. StarNews Mobile, which will leverage best practices from Snap Inc., is one of nine companies selected to join this program.

A Look At What StarNews Does

Founded in 2017 in Cote D’ivoire, StarNews Mobile is the project of Cameroonian Guy Kamgaing who has over 20 years of experience in the mobile telecom industry.

“I started in January 2016, with $ 250,000 in equity to deploy the platform and carry out the first proof of concept,” said Kamgaing. “At the beginning of 2018, I raised $100,000 as part of a “Friends & Family Round”; and during the summer of 2019, I raised an additional 600,000 dollars from Business Angels based in California.”

The startup which is present in four countries, is a network of mobile video channels that allows celebrities and brands to monetize their fan bases in Africa, the world’s fastest growing mobile market. StarNews Mobile works with popular local and international stars such as Davido (Nigeria — 12.7M followers), Fally Ipupa (Congo — 3M followers) or Sauti Sol (Kenya — 2.2M followers) to create exclusive and addictive short videos that fans are eager to pay for.

The startup also allows creators to earn new income and advertisers to reach their target audiences. The startup claims to have 5 million subscribers already. To date, the company has also around 40 employees spread across Canada, the United States, India, France and Africa.

Available in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo and South Africa, StarNews is working with large pan-African mobile operators such as MTN, Orange and MOOV in order to distribute exclusive and quality video content directly to users.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Cameroonian Media Startup StarNews Mobile Raises Funds From Investisseurs & Partenaires

December 11, 2020

Media startups in Africa are increasingly getting the attention of VCs too! Following recent investments in Space In Africa, Stears, and Wee Media, investors have again gone for StarNews Mobile, the Cameroon-headquartered pan-African mobile content platform. The startup has announced investments from Africa-focused investor Investisseurs & Partenaires ( I & P) as well as from the California-based international accelerator Expert DOJO. The investment will enable the startup to build local teams in Abidjan, Douala, Johannesburg and Lagos.

Guy Kamgaing CEO and founder, StarNews Mobile

“Despite the generalization of smartphones and increasing access on the mobile internet, value-added service offers are not very ‘Africanized’ and even when it is, the content is sourced only from international players,” said Guy Kamgaing, founder of StarNews Mobile, “It was necessary to highlight this rich and original local content and allow its players to monetize it like it should be. Hence the idea of a distribution platform deployed in partnership with mobile operators.”

Why The Investors Invested

Investisseurs & Partenaires, just as Proparco, has actively been investing in startups in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, the investor remarkably participated in the $13.5 M Series B fundraise by the Ghana-based cleantech startup PEG Africa. The investment was then led by Blue Haven Initiative with participation from EAV, ENGIE Rassembleurs d’Energies, Acumen and PCG Investments. Investment into StarNews Mobile is also coming on the heels of the recent launch of I&P Accelerate by the investment firm, alongside the European Union, a program designed to support the growth and development of 300 startups and small businesses in sub-Saharan Africa. I & P made this investment from its I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 Fund.

“We are proud to support a talented and experienced African entrepreneur who demonstrates a real commitment to deploying a pan-African solution and innovation. We share StarNews’s ambition to promote African artists and produce a greater diversity of quality local content with high added value for end users,” Nouss Bih, manager at I&P.

On the other hand, Expert DOJO is a California-based accelerator, which has invested in at least 80 startups (through pre-seed and seed investment and training), with most of its African founders coming from Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria and Egypt. Notable African startups invested into include Nigeria-based loyalty rewards startup ThankUCash; Egypt-based edtech startup Marj3; among others. Apply today to EXPERT DOJO, if you are an African founder. The accelerator makes up to $100,000 investments into national and international companies.

“When it came to StarNews’ value proposition, strong local partnerships in Africa and their focus on customer satisfaction there was no investment decision to make,” stated Mac Mahon founder of Expert DOJO, a pre-seed startup accelerator. “If we could have, we would have invested more and since that time we have been more and more impressed with how the company has over delivered on every milestone and investor promise. This is one of the companies that we are proudest to have in our portfolio and expect great things over the next two years. Founder, Guy Kamgaing, is destined for greatness.”

A Look At What The Startup Does

Founded in 2017 in Cote D’ivoire, StarNews Mobile is the project of Cameroonian Guy Kamgaing who has over 20 years of experience in the mobile telecom industry. The startup which is present in four countries, is a network of mobile video channels that allows celebrities and brands to monetize their fan bases in Africa, the world’s fastest growing mobile market. StarNews Mobile works with popular local and international stars such as Davido (Nigeria — 12.7M followers), Fally Ipupa (Congo — 3M followers) or Sauti Sol (Kenya — 2.2M followers) to create exclusive and addictive short videos that fans are eager to pay for.

The startup also allows creators to earn new income and advertisers to reach their target audiences.

Available in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo and South Africa, StarNews will be launching in Nigeria, Senegal and other countries. The firm is working with large pan-African mobile operators such as MTN, Orange and MOOV in order to distribute exclusive and quality video content directly to users.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer