Dear colleagues and friends,
First of all, thanks to those of you who wrote back with words of encouragement after the first edition of HUSTLE & FLOW. Your enthusiastic feedback strongly validates the need for more actionable, business-focused information on the African Entertainment space, so here we go with episode 2:
The big news this week is Netflix’s one-two punch entry into Africa, with the official launch of Netflix Nigeria, and the release of South Africa-made “Queen Sono”, the platform’s first African original series. Netflix’s intent for Africa is bold and ambitious -- I’ll talk more about what this means for African content and for the VOD space below.
Another topic that is top of mind right now is how the coronavirus pandemic will affect Africa. At the time of writing, only 3 official cases had been reported on the continent (in Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria) and Kenya had suspended all flights from China. China is an important player and investor in the African tech and media space (through companies such as Huawei or StarTimes). Besides concerns over African countries’ preparedness to handle the virus, the longer term issue is how the current Chinese lockdown will impact African economies (Spoiler alert: it’s not looking good, but also temporary and nothing we haven’t seen before).
Do continue to refer more people to this newsletter as you’ve been doing this past week. For the moment I am keeping HUSTLE & FLOW confidential so I haven’t activated a subscription link. To be added to the list just drop me a quick line directly at marie@restless.global.
And finally, please don’t hesitate to send me questions or topics that you’d like to see covered in future editions of HUSTLE & FLOW, as well as suggestions for improvement.
Happy reading to all,
Marie
INVESTMENT NEWS
International football star Didier Drogba recently concluded a roadshow that has helped his birthplace, Côte d’Ivoire, collect MOUs for a total of $15 billion in commitments to back a variety of tourism projects, including hotels, exhibition centers, waterparks, seafronts, resorts, tourist routes, retail centers and eco-tourism developments. Tourism is Ivory Coast’s third economic pillar after agriculture and energy, and the country forecasts 4 million tourists arrivals (up from 2 million today) bringing in more than $1.5 billion by 2025. Many other countries in Africa could benefit from similarly aggressive tourism development strategies.
BROADCAST
Ivorian public broadcaster RTI has launched its new television channel, RTI 3, dedicated to young fans of sports and music. RTI 3 will be available on the Canal+ and StarTimes bundles as well as on DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television / TNT en francais).
Africa’s on-going (and fraught) transition to DTT has been one area of strong interest for global operators such as StarTimes, DSTV, Canal+, but also the very French M6, which acquired a 33% stake in Ivorian channel Life TV in 2017. However, the initial excitement of some investors over Africa’s DTT potential was based on the flawed assumption that more spectrum = more cheap channels = more content = more viewers = more revenue. That equation was false because it forgot to take into account the fact that in most African countries the pool of TV advertisers is still very small. So in reality what we’re seeing is simply more channels that end up competing over the same advertising budgets from a limited number of brands. My view is that investing in DTT is necessary and interesting for existing operators but very risky for new entrants. More on the (very complex) topic of Broadcast and what can be done in the space in Africa in future editions of HUSTLE & FLOW.
FASHION
Last week I mentioned the buzz created by Cameroonian designer Imane Ayissi at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week. Well, turns out there were not one, but three African designers hogging the spotlight on the Parisian catwalk this year, as Ayissi was followed by Austrian-Nigerian 2019 LVMH Prize finalist Kenneth Ize and South African 2019 LVMH Prize winner Thebe Magugu, whose separate collections also garnered rave reviews. While Le Monde talks about “the historical breakthrough of African Fashion”, we might very well be witnessing the birth of the next global fashion brands.
VISUAL ARTS
Not to be outdone, the Visual Arts also shone last week as collectors flocked to the 1-54 Art Fair in Marrakesh. While some fear foreign speculators will snap up major works cheaply leading to a masterwork exodus out of Africa, others point to the growing number of African collectors and their private museums. In any case, contemporary African art is becoming both an asset class in itself, and a new sector in need of structure and expertise.
SPORTS
Here is a lovely profile of Sarah Chan, the Sudanese-born Africa talent scout for the Toronto Raptors, which would make a great film or TV series. I’m too busy to snap it up for myself so I’m offering it to you here :-)
I have Mark Kaigwa to thank for the link - and actually I highly recommend Mark’s awesome newsletter The Letter N and his company Nendo if you’re interested in smart African social media trends and analysis.
FILM & TV
Before we get to the big chunky piece of G.O.A.T. meat that is Netflix, let’s acknowledge the good performance of African filmmakers at the recently concluded festivals in Sundance (“Farewell Amor”, “Softie”, “Cuties”, “This is not a burial, it’s a resurrection”) and Berlin (several films including “This is My Desire”, the first Nigerian film to be selected). These are all talents to track.
Now on to our main story. Netflix began its careful exploration of the African market a few years ago, starting with a few acquisitions in South Africa and Nigeria. Last year, it announced the commission of its first 2 original South African TV series, and went on a buying spree in Nigeria, snatching up basically all the top Nollywood titles (it also acquired “Lionheart” before its release to brand it its first Nigerian original film). The success of these films on the platform, and especially of “King of Boys” and “Moms at War”, emboldened the streamer to push forward. Last week, Netflix Nigeria officially launched with a clever Twitter campaign and a star-studded event attended by Ted Sarandos himself, during which its first Nigerian original TV project, a 6-part sci fi series by Akin Omotoso, was revealed. Just a few days later, Netflix’s first ever African original TV series, the South African-produced “Queen Sono”, premiered on the platform. I binged-watched it of course.
Why is this a big deal? Netflix has solid plans for Africa, and this is only the beginning. Their presence and their approach in Nigeria specifically will lead to an increase in content quality (more than in quantity as Nollywood already produces prodigious amounts of content), and in demand for professional studio space, equipment, crew, and development expertise. It will also educate the global market about Nigerian content, and de-risk investment in the country’s film industry for other international players. So, thanks Netflix.
VOD
A question I often get asked is: is there still anything to do in the VOD space in Africa? Well, the short answer is no. The battle over streaming in Africa is over before it even started and Netflix has won (I don’t trust Digital TV Research numbers but the order of magnitude feels correct).
I know some people have a hard time believing this as it’s still early for African VOD. Yes, eventually the other global platforms will make their way to the continent as well. As the only deep-pocketed local player, Showmax might survive for a while, limping and sickly, but I’m not even sure about that. I also have great respect for Jason Njoku and what he has achieved with Iroko. His wife Mary Njoku, Founder and CEO of ROK Studios, which sold to Canal+ last year, is responsible for one of the very few exits of the sector. Jason has announced his plans to take Iroko public in 2021, but I do not see this happening neither do I see another path forward, especially now that Netflix is stepping up its Naija game.
Here’s the thing: When it comes to Netflix’s play in Africa, it is not even about the money they’re bringing or the kind of deals they’re doing. For an industry and a continent that has struggled to be seen and appreciated for, truly, hundreds of years, the fact that a prestigious global brand now says “We’ve seen you, we’ve noticed your talent, we appreciate your stories and the way you tell them” is extremely powerful and will buy Netflix decades of goodwill (just like it did for Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler). And with this, they can go anywhere they want.
A caveat though to my earlier statement: I do see opportunities in online video for local players or new entrants targeting the mass market with simple, basic, gamified, mobile-only solutions. Stay tuned for more in future editions of HUSTLE & FLOW.
EVENTS
FIHA, the premier hotel investment conference in Francophone Africa will take place at the Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire on March 23-25.
And finally, there are some concerns that the following events might get cancelled or postponed for corona-reasons, but at the moment they’re still happening:
MiP TV, Cannes, March 30th-April 1st
ARES Fighting Championship, Brussels, April 3rd
Africa-France Summit on Sustainable Cities, Bordeaux, June 4th-6th