Dear colleagues and friends,

Two weeks after the murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement has achieved a unique feat, uniting millions of people across the world in protest in spite of curfews and of a deadly global pandemic.

African intellectuals, writers without borders, artists, academics and journalists have weighed in on the historic moment, noting the failing moral leadership of the United States and the inseparable ties between the American civil rights movement and Africa’s anti-colonialism movements. Across the continent, the global rallying calls for justice have also found an echo with regular Africans familiar with police brutality at home and abroad. In Nigeria, the Black Lives Matter protests collided with a recent spate of rapes and killings of women, prompting Nigerians to combine various calls for justice under the hashtag #wearetired.

Is #BlackLivesMatter finally having its #metoo moment? Is this new incarnation of a 52-years-long (or 400-years-long) struggle the one that will finally succeed in bringing about change? It does feel different this time. Venture firms are rushing to support Black founders and investors, Softbank launched a $100 million Opportunity Growth fund to invest in founders of color, Alexis Ohanian (famously married to Serena Williams) quit the Reddit board to make space for a Black candidate, Sony Music Group launched a $100 million fund to support social justice and anti-racist initiatives, Republic Records banned the connoted word "urban" from its company lexicon, and Hollywood heavyweights jumped to support John Boyega following his emotional speech at a protest in London.

From where I am standing, this new awareness and willingness to correct historical injustices can only have a positive impact both on the appeal of African culture worldwide and on investment in the African Entertainment space.

This week in HUSTLE & FLOW, I’ll talk about Whatsapp quietly testing its potentially revolutionary “Catalogs” feature in Uganda, Africa’s artifacts being sold off online when no one is looking, Canal Plus’ planning the release of its 6th African original Cacao, and more.

If you’ve received this newsletter from a friend or colleague, make sure you subscribe here and visit the archives there for more insights, trends and opportunities in the African Entertainment space.

Happy reading to all,

Marie

INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE

For those of us working in Nigeria, Zoom calls are automatically done without the video and usually start like this “Hello can you hear me? Can you hear me? - Yes I can hear you. I can hear you. - Sorry, my connection is bad today.” We’re in 2020, and the largest market on the continent is still stuck in the bottom quarter of global broadband speed rankings. But there is light at the end of the tunnel as Quartz explains: the country’s new national broadband plan is aiming to deliver download speeds of at least 25 Mbps in urban areas (10 Mbps in rural areas) with “effective coverage” across 90% of the population by 2025. At least that’s on paper as, of course, implementation won’t come without challenges. One of them is an anachronistic oddity typical of Nigerian red tape: the hefty “right of way” charges that individual states charge telcos and internet providers before they can lay their cables. But Quartz shows how the example of Ekiti state, which recently cut its ROW charges by 96%, and the success of the Lagos neighborhood of Yaba, where an early decision to zero-rate charges eventually led to the birth of the country’s tech industry, might inspire other state governments to follow suit. 

Regular readers of HUSTLE & FLOW know that one of the biggest investment opportunities in Africa right now is in data centers, as I’ve gone on and on about it in previous editions. This week Jeune Afrique has a good article (behind the paywall and in French) about this market, that was estimated at $500 million in 2018 and is growing between 30 to 40% every year.


MOBILE

E-commerce giant Amazon is reportedly in early-stage talks to buy a 5% stake worth at least $2 billion in Bharti Airtel, the third-largest telecom operator in India which also operates in 14 countries in Africa. If the deal is confirmed, it would give Airtel the firepower to push its competitive advantage across all its markets. As we saw in a previous edition of HUSTLE & FLOW, Airtel Africa reported strong 2019 numbers, with its mobile money and data services revenues growing by 33% and 36% respectively.

Meanwhile, MTN is planning to launch its 5G network this month in South Africa, with a promotion tied to the introduction of the 5G-enabled Huawei P40 smartphones on the market.


LOGISTICS

This week on Project Syndicate, Aubrey Hruby and Aubrey Rugo make a strong case in favor of investing in the African logistics sector as a necessary precursor for the long-hoped-for boom in e-commerce on the continent. “Supporting robust e-commerce growth in Africa will require infrastructure investment. (...) The expansion of both asset-heavy and asset-light local logistics companies is also essential,” they write. “Here, development finance institutions should take the lead, investing directly in asset-heavy logistics companies, while venture funds continue to focus on asset-light companies.” They make two crucial points here which are also valid for investors interested in the African Entertainment or Creative Industries sector: First, there’s only so much you can leapfrog with a mobile app. The sector needs cables and towers, data centers (ok, ok), factories, cinemas, art galleries, and stadiums, even more so than online platforms or tech solutions. Second, different types of investors have a role to play, with the DFIs being better suited to finance asset-heavy projects (possibly through public-private-partnerships that can involve a mix of debt and equity) and VCs asset-light companies with a higher risk-reward profile.


E-COMMERCE

Guys, I had to do some real detective work on that one and I believe this might be a HUSTLE & FLOW exclusive: my sources in Uganda tell me that Whatsapp’s catalog for small business is operational there. There hasn’t been any official announcement anywhere, but this is likely to mean that Facebook (owner of Whatsapp) is currently testing the product before a full Africa roll-out. Remember how I lamented that creative entrepreneurs and artists were not able to monetize their huge fan bases on their two platforms of choice, Instagram and Whatsapp? Well, this might change very soon and if that’s indeed the case, this is BIG. Now, what’s ‘catalogs’? WhatsApp introduced the new feature to its Business app last November in various markets including the US, the UK, Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia, and Mexico. It enables businesses to display their products and services to potential customers with photos and prices, rather than being limited to text-based conversations. Basically, it’s turning ubiquitous Whatsapp into a simple, light, hyper-local, mobile e-commerce platform that would only be missing a universal payment solution... such as Facebook Pay, another new feature the social media giant recently introduced in the US, with the goal to eventually connect various payment methods (including Paypal and Square) to Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. See where this is going?

So, compared to what could be a revolution for African small businesses, Jumia’s announcement last week of new partnerships with VOD platform IrokoTV and Mastercard is rather underwhelming. Jumia Nigeria’s new agreement with IrokoTV will see the e-commerce player offer free IrokoTV subscriptions to members of its Prime loyalty program, while its new deal with MasterCard will offer a 25% cashback to MasterCard holders who buy the 12-month Jumia Prime membership. Meh.


FASHION

Another interesting op-ed this week comes from Stewart Paterson writing in the South China Morning Post, who argues that manufacturers pulling out of China as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic should consider Africa to diversify their supply chain. He points to Africa’s rapidly growing working-age population and to the creation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as attractive factors. Such a dynamic would no doubt benefit the African textile and fashion sector. African governments are aware of the opportunity of course (and of their own needs to diversify their economies), so we can cross our fingers for a perfect storm here.


VISUAL ARTS

While we’re all being distracted by a deadly virus, a global economic crisis, and shocking racial injustice, Africa’s looted artifacts are being put up for sale at auction, Quartz reports. After years of vigorous debate, the matter of the restitution of African artifacts stolen by European powers during the colonial period seemed to be edging towards resolution as countries like France, Germany and The Netherlands announced plans to return the items to their original home.But now, some of those prominent and controversial pieces - valued between $34,000 and $4,5 million - are being quietly sold off in online auctions by Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Not a good look.

However, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, a Nigerian art collector and founder of Lagos’ brand new Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art who was interviewed for the Quartz piece, makes a thought-provoking point from a different angle: the value ascribed to these artifacts actually depends on their current location. “There is a working industry and infrastructure [in Europe] to support the works of art. The moment those works come back to our control, they will lose value just like the ones that are here. The conversation moving forward should be to claim ownership and then claim annual royalties to these works of art even as they remain where they are.”


LITERATURE

OkayAfrica launched South Africa Reframed, a series of personal essays from some of the country’s best young writers. In the first essay of the series, Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh argues that the pandemic chaos was not predicted by political analysts or economists, but by world-builders like fantasy writers and rappers. "The Ghost Virus was quick, violent and efficient… Very soon, the country became a Ghost Town where most of what made people feel secure fell away," wrote Mohale Mashigo in her short story Ghost Strain N. An opportunity to learn about South African authors like Mpofu-Walsh and Mashigo, but also Lauren Beukes, Patrick Rothfuss, and Martha Wells. 


MUSIC

An info I had missed last month (thanks Yoann) is the announcement of Universal Music’s new strategic partnership with Lagos entertainment company The Aristokrat Group, best known for discovering and developing breakout talent Burna Boy. The partnership consists of both a label deal and a publishing deal through Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). Talking about Universal Music, Jeune Afrique has a good article (in French) about the recent restructuring of its Africa team, including the promotion of Franck Alcide Kacou, also known as the rappeur Black Kent, as Managing Director, and the arrival of Laëtitia Kandolo as artistic director. At just 28 years old, Kandolo has already collaborated as a stylist with Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Madonna and Kanye West.


SPORTS

After more than two months of a strict diet, major sports leagues are slowly making plans to resume their live games and competitions. Most relevant to Africa is the return of the English Premier League on June 17, albeit behind closed doors.

Meanwhile in e-sports news, yesterday’s virtual charity cycling race in South Africa featuring Chris Froome, Kevin Pietersen, Mel C and Darren Gough saw great uptake on the home cycling app Zwift, while also being broadcast live on SkySports and on the Zwift Youtube channel. Early in South Africa’s lockdown period, Zwift South Africa reported over 30,000 concurrent users.


BROADCAST

As live sports return to TV screens across the globe, South Africa's pay-TV operator DStv launched a text message campaign to lure back subscribers who had cancelled their DStv premium subscription. 

Over in Nigeria, the government has set up a task-team to define the policy framework for "an objective and scientific audience measurement system." According to Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, the goal is to "demonstrate the value of content to advertisers, consumers and broadcast stakeholders". Despite Nigeria’s population being three times bigger than South Africa’s, its media industry only makes 25% of South Africa’s advertising revenue. Of course South Africa’s GDP per capita ($6,374) is also three times bigger than Nigeria’s ($2,028), but I do believe that Nigeria’s free-to-air market is under-exploited and under-valued.


FILM

The Cannes Film Festival has announced its 2020 selection, which includes only two films from Africa. En route pour le milliard by Dieudo Hamadi, a documentary on the 2000 conflict in Kisangani and the first film from DRC to ever come to Cannes, and Souad, by Ayten Amin, an Egypt-Tunisian co-production. No big surprise here as, contrary to the Toronto or Berlin film festivals, Cannes has never always been particularly interested in African films, despite its various initiatives such as La Fabrique and Cinémas du Monde meant to support world cinema. I attribute it in large part to France’s patronizing view of Africa (try to find an African film nominated at Cannes that doesn’t prominently feature sand and dirt besides Rafiki).

Remember what I said in a previous edition about Kenyan documentary filmmakers? Well another Kenyan project, How to Build a Library by Maia Lekow and Christopher King just received a grant from Sundance’s Documentary Fund. The film follows two ambitious Kenyan women navigating Nairobi’s politics and its problematic colonial history as they pursue their mission to revitalize Nairobi’s libraries. 


CONTENT PRODUCTION

Canal Plus is teasing the June 15 release of Cacao, its 6th original African series, a sweeping family drama set in the world of Ivory Coast’s cocoa industry. The series, directed by experienced filmmaker Alex Ogou and produced by Ogou and former Canal Plus Director of Programming Francois Deplank, will bring together some 70 actors from Ivory Coast, Gabon, Congo and Senegal for 12 episodes of 50 minutes. Ogou was already behind Invisibles, Canal Plus’ most successful African original so far. Another noteworthy Canal Plus production in Africa (and my personal favorite) is Sakho and Mangane by director-showrunner Jean-Luc Herbulot. Over the past few years, Canal Plus has emerged as one of the major commissioners of African series alongside Mnet/Africa Magic/Showmax, SABC in South Africa and now, Netflix.

M-Net prestige original series Trackers, adapted from the crime novel by Deon Meyer and co-produced by HBO Cinemax and Germany’s ZDF, was reportedly M-Net’s top-performing show of 2019. Now it is coming to Cinemax’ global broadcast channel (and perhaps to newly launched HBO Max?), and it will be interesting to see how it performs with international audiences. As an action-packed 6-part series about organized crime in South Africa featuring gorgeous landscapes, diamonds, terrorists, and black rhinos, it certainly has the potential to be widely appealing.

Another big success for African content this week (we’ll claim them all), is Nigerian-American Yvonne Orji’s HBO Comedy Special, Momma, I Made It!, which premiered last week to rave reviews. The "documentary-music-video-comedy-show" takes viewers all the way to Lagos and to the United-States’ DMV area where Orji grew up. Orji, who exploded four years ago with HBO’s Insecure, has always been vocal about and proud of her Nigerian roots. She is currently developing a TV series based on her experience as a first generation Nigerian immigrant called First Gen, with Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo on board as producers.


ANIMATION

Alright, we all need a little pick me up right now so I’ll leave you with this cute video from several Nigerian animators who came together to respond to the popular #dontrushchallenge. The very catchy song is Bop Daddy by Falz.