Dear colleagues and friends,
Covid-19 claimed another prominent African politician last week, when Tanzania’s president John Pombe Magufuli passed away at age 61, officially yet implausibly from a heart attack. Magufuli’s death promptly inspired eulogies based on his track record as “The Bulldozer”, standing up to corruption and the exploitation of Tanzania from foreign investors.
But Magufuli was also an ardent Covid-skeptic of the Bolsonaro-Trump variety, who put his country’s entire population at risk by refusing to implement pandemic health protocols. He was also not a fan of free speech, and once censored - and this is not a joke - my friend’s children cartoon TV show for featuring a rainbow, a sure symbol of the Global Gay Conspiracy.
All eyes are now on Tanzania’s first female president Samia Suluhu Hassan, to whom benefit of the doubt will be given -- even though she has also recently been seen addressing crowds without a mask or social distancing.
The other news of major global importance last week was Kanye West’s brief coronation by some mathematically-challenged media as “the richest Black man in the world” before being ruthlessly stripped of his title. Much more reliable is the McKinsey study which showed that Hollywood is losing some $10 billion in potential revenue annually because of the consistent underfunding and undervaluing of Black-led projects. Talking about valuation, Nigerian fintech startup Flutterwave recently became Africa’s new unicorn after closing its latest $170 million funding round.
This week in HUSTLE & FLOW, I’ll talk about Afrobeats star Burna Boy proving with his Grammy win that he is not only an African but also a World Giant, which African filmmakers made the Oscars’ final list, and the long-awaited launch of Instagram Lite. Read on also for quick bites on mysterious African fractals, the new chips-eating Kenyan face of Valentino, Senegalese rappers pushing for change, Motsepe’s ambitions for African football, and a Cameroonian gaming studio’s innovative equity “crowdraising” model.
Finally, with everything that’s been happening, the pandemic, yada yada yada, I completely forgot to celebrate HUSTLE & FLOW’s one year anniversary last month. What initially started as a confidential newsletter has turned into an inclusive publication now followed by close to 1,000 subscribers and a few hundred more stealth readers on my website. In the past year, I have noticed a quantum leap in foreign partners’ interest in and understanding of the African creative ecosystem, and I would like to believe that HUSTLE & FLOW played a small role in this. So asanteni sana for your support, and for your attention. Tuko pamoja.
Happy reading to all,
Marie
INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE
New data center transaction alert - this time in Ghana for a change. PE firm African Infrastructure Investment Managers, together with the management team of the new Onix Data Centres Limited platform, have acquired a majority stake in Ngoya Etix DC Ltd, a carrier-neutral data center located in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The facility is expected to be the largest operational data center in Ghana once fully ramped-up.
MOBILE
2020 was a disaster for many, but a banner year for some. One of those who lucked out is mobile giant MTN, which saw a growth of 19.9% and an increase of 28.8 million subscribers last year, bringing the company’s total customer base to 279.6 million. More specifically, the operator reported a boost of 14.6% in Nigeria, 1.6% in South Africa, and 16.6% in Ghana. Internet traffic also grew by 110% courtesy of the lockdowns, leading a 31% boost in data revenue for the company.
VISUAL ARTS
It’s hard out there for artists, but a couple of funding opportunities have recently opened up. Germany’s Federal Cultural Foundation has launched TURN2, a program of Artistic Co-Creation between Germany and African countries consisting of a funding scheme for artistic and cultural projects, a residency and transcontinental academies. The 2021 Prince Claus Seed Awards program, which recognizes emerging artists and cultural practitioners whose work addresses pressing social and/or political issues, is also now taking applications. And in Ghana, Accra-based Gallery 1957 is launching the Yaa Asantewaa Art Prize - the first ever dedicated award for female African artists living and working in Africa. Named after the Ghanaian queen, the prize is open to all female and self-identifying female artists in Ghana or the Ghanaian diaspora.
Here’s one for the geeks. What do artists and mathematicians have in common? Their love of the golden ratio, the famed mathematical expression of Phi, an irrational number close to 1.618. The golden ratio, which is widely found in nature such as in the fractal forms of tree branches or snowflakes, is particularly pleasing to the eye and as such provides the framework for much of the graphic design profession today. In a recent article, scholars Audrey G. Bennett, Program Director at University of Michigan’s Stamps School of Art & Design, and Ron Eglash, author of African Fractals, argue that this design style may have roots in African culture. To support this thesis, Bennett points out that African design practices are often based on organic fractal forms, giving as examples the palace of the chief in Logone-Birni, Cameroon, and the scaling pattern of Ghana’s Kente cloth. In fact, the rows of Kente stripes are even organized following the Fibonacci sequence, from which the golden ratio can be derived… Now that’s material for a real African Da Vinci Code.
FASHION
Nineteen-year-old Kenyan internet sensation Elsa Majimbo is the new face of the venerable Italian fashion house Valentino. Majimbo’s lo-fi Instagram and TikTok videos, in which she delivers comedic one-liners about quarantine life while eating chips, went viral during the first lockdown, attracting millions of views from around the world. Since then Majimbo got herself a manager, an interview with Anderson Cooper, budding friendships with Chrissy Teigen and Usain Bolt, and partnership deals with Comedy Central, Bumble, Fenty and MAC. Her new gig with Valentino will also lead to the co-production of a book called The Alphabet for Kids & Adults. Oh, and she also happens to be a 15 times chess champion. No kidding.
MUSIC
In the latest episode of Naija No Dey Carry Last (Nigerians always finish first), Afrobeats star Burna Boy came up majorly on top last week, winning a coveted Best Global Music Album Grammy award for his album Twice As Tall. Burna Boy had already come close to a Grammy trophy last year but missed out to veteran Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo. But that’s not all: Nigeria scored another win thanks to Wizkid, who received a Grammy for Best Music Video for his collaboration with Beyonce on Brown Skin Girl. These successes, which were massively celebrated online across the continent, are clear signs of the global mainstreaming of African artists and creators.
And everyone wants a piece of it. Apple Music has just launched a new campaign titled Africa to the World, highlighting original and exclusive content from some of the biggest music stars and personalities on the continent. The collection includes episodes of DJ Cuppy's Africa Now radio show, radio and video interviews with artists like Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tems, or Black Coffee, episodes of Song Stories exploring the creative process behind some of Africa’s biggest hits, and guest playlists curated by Angelique Kidjo, Sauti Sol, Sho Madjozi, or Master KG. Meanwhile, Universal Music Group (UMG), one of the first global labels to recognize the potential of the African market, has signed an agreement to extend the licensing of its catalog on music service Boomplay from 7 to 47 African countries. Chinese-owned Boomplay is currently one of the leading music platforms on the continent with over 75 million users. In the past 5 years, UMG has opened offices in Nigeria, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon and Morocco and launched or acquired stakes in several labels dedicated to African music, including Def Jam Africa, Motown Gospel Africa, AI Records and Afroforce1. It also distributes labels such as Kalawa Jazzmee, Aristokrat, Family Tree and Soulistic.
Determined not to let all the value created by local artists disappear into the pockets of global giants, Nigeria-based music distribution company Freeme Digital has launched a new platform called Freeme+ to provide A&R, marketing, sync licensing and publishing services for independent African rightsholders. The first signings to Freeme+ are sibling duo The Cavemen, Nigerian comedy legend Basketmouth and up-and-coming artist NINETY. Freeme Digital was founded by Michael Ugwu, former General Manager of Sony West Africa and current Merlin board member. Besides its new service Freeme+, the company supports local artists through its Freeme Music, Freeme TV, The Freeme Space and FM Publishing divisions.
Meanwhile in Senegal, several of the country’s top rappers (including Hakill, Dip Doundou Guiss and Canabasse) have taken to the mic to vocalize the feelings of young people protesting the arrest of popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko for rape, which they say was politically motivated. If the deadly unrest came as a surprise to those who saw Senegal as a beacon of stability, the #FreeSenegal movement has actually been a long time coming. In recent years, many Senegalese have grown increasingly frustrated with President Macky Sall’s inability to address issues such as unemployment and rising economic inequalities. Sonko’s arrest was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.
SPORTS BUSINESS
Newly elected Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe has made the issue of African football broadcast rights his priority. Since the CAF cancelled its media and marketing rights agreement with Lagardere in 2019, the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Champions League and Confederation Cup matches have not been broadcast, leading to a loss of $200 million in revenue. Motsepe’s immediate challenge will be to get the CAF matches back on TV. The South African billionaire also voiced his ambition to see an African country win the FIFA World Cup in the next two tournaments.
Meanwhile, plans for the creation of a new, 20-member African Super League seems to be under way. The idea was initially shared over a year ago by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who suggested that such a new competition between Africa’s biggest clubs could generate over $200 million in revenue and become one of the world’s top sports leagues. It is not clear however whether the intention would be to supplant or supplement the CAF Champions League.
BROADCAST
WarnerMedia has revealed that its channels Cartoon Network and Boomerang now account for 47% of all kids’ pay-tv viewing in Africa, reaching 6 and 5.5 million households respectively. Both brands have also seen very strong growth in traffic to their websites and their YouTube channels. WarnerMedia (at the time Turner) started paying attention to the African market some 6 or 7 years ago, experimenting with content localization and investing time and resources to develop African animation talents. These early efforts now seem to be paying off.
VOD
Netflix is joining forces with South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) to boost the recovery of the South African creative industry from the pandemic. Both partners will jointly invest close to $2 million to produce 6 South African feature films, to the tune of $273,000 to $410,000 per film. All 6 films will premiere on Netflix first.
Staying in SA, Netflix has released the trailer for Dead Places, a new South African horror series that will launch on April 16. The show, about a writer who returns home to investigate a series of supernatural occurrences for his new book, was created by South African writer, director and award-winning author Gareth Crocker, already behind the Netflix series Shadow. Dead Places was also partially financed by Canal Plus, which has taken rights for French-speaking territories.
Meanwhile in Nigeria, the global streamer has announced an expanded partnership with star director Kunle Afolayan to produce and premiere 3 films: a historical drama, a folklore fantasy and a character drama. The first project, which just wrapped production, is an adaptation of Nigerian-American novelist Sefi Atta’s novel Swallow about a naive secretary-turned-drug mule in mid-1980s Lagos.
Moving east, the Kenya Film and Classification Board (KFCB) has suspended the second season of comedian Eric Omondi's Wife Material YouTube show after Omondi's arrest by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for contravening the country’s film and content regulations. The comedian was later released on a bail of $455 based on a mutual agreement with KFCB to settle out of court, with Omondi vowing to avoid producing “dirty content” and to make the show “cleaner” in the future. Wife Material, which a friend described to me as a “crass, soft porn version of The Bachelor”, is a reality show in which 9 female contestants compete for the attention of one man - in this case Omondi himself. While the censoring of that particular show may not be a big loss for the creative arts, this new (but not first) KFCB ban on digital content hosted on a global platform is worrying.
Finally in the US, Demand Africa, the streaming VOD service of The Africa Channel, has launched its premium subscription service on The Roku Channel, one of the top channels on the Roku platform with a reach of 61 million people. Demand Africa programming features African and diaspora films, TV series, comedy and lifestyle shows.
FILM
The final list of Oscars nominations is out and Africa bagged itself a Foreign Language Film nom courtesy of Tunisia’s The Man Who Sold His Skin by director Kaouther Ben Hania. The film is about a Syrian man who allows an artist to use his back as a canvas in order to get to Europe. Audience favorite My Octopus Teacher, a Netflix documentary directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed about filmmaker Craig Foster’s unlikely friendship with a wild octopus living in a South African kelp forest, is also nominated under the Best Documentary Feature category. Finally, South African filmmaker Michael Matthews’ Love & Monsters is also on the Oscars list in the Visual Effects category.
A not-too-shabby report card, despite the snubbing of Philippe Lacôte’s Night of the Kings, which prompted CNN to announce that Africa’s film industry was “spreading across borders”. My favorite quote in the article comes from Rok Studios’ CEO Mary Njoku, who said it all: "[Currently only] people in the upper-middle class can afford to stream, but it won't be like that forever. Technological promise will catch up and then the market will explode. So, we creatives just need to keep on creating amazing, compelling content and just wait. The African creative industry is young, dynamic, and ambitious. [We] have collectively created so much with so little. Imagine what the next decade looks like with major studio partnerships."
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
In this week’s roundup of African Hollywood moves, Showtime has given a series order to hour long drama Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation. The series, an epic drama centered around the legendary Zulu leader’s personal journey from stigmatized childhood to warrior king, was created and written by Nigerian-American Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika, and is executive produced and directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). Also, Greek Freak, the Disney+ movie about Greek-Nigerian NBA star player Giannis Antetokounmpo directed by Akin Omotosho, has found its leads. Newcomer Uche Agada will star as Antetokounmpo, while Yetide Badaki and Dayo Okeniyi will play his parents.
Now, I’ll admit that when I sometimes want to give an example of a country where nothing much is happening business-wise, I often refer to the Central African Republic. Shame on me, as clearly I was wrong: CAR is about to have its own CSI: SVU with the upcoming release of Bangui, unité spéciale. The 10-episode crime investigation series is directed by Benenese filmmaker Elvire Adjamonsi and received close to $600,000 in funding from organizations such as ACP-EU Culture Fund and the International Francophonie Organization (OIF). It is not yet clear where the series will be broadcast, but I’ll keep you updated.
ANIMATION
Basement Animation’s project Joko & Dide has been selected for the Nigeria Focus at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Market (MIFA), which will take place God willing from June 15 to 18 this year. The announcement was made after a two-week workshop at the French Embassy in Lagos in collaboration with the 2021 Annecy festival and MIFA, through a development program for 10 projects supported by Animation Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the call for applications for the 5th edition of incubation and mentorship program Digital Lab Africa is now open. DLA targets innovative digital content from the perspective of form, storytelling and technologies in 5 categories: immersive experience, gaming, music, animation and digital art.
VIDEO GAMES
Cameroonian games development studio Kiro’o Games has launched a new campaign to raise additional financing through the Rebuntu Equity Crowdfunding platform, an innovative scheme which the studio developed inhouse. In 2019, Kiro’o announced that it hoped to raise up to $1 million by allowing private investors to buy shares online starting at around $500. Several months later, the startup said it had raised some $600,000 from 414 investors -- not reaching its goal but still encouraging. Technically, anyone can invest, although Kiro’o does perform a background check. While the company’s pitch deck and business plan are publicly available on the platform, the financials aren’t (one can expect that they would be shared at a later stage). With exits through acquisitions or public listings becoming more common in the African tech space, and digital entertainment startups starting to attract attention, Kiro’o’s model is certainly worth looking into.
SOCIAL MEDIA
In what is likely to be a game-changer for many social media users across Africa, Facebook is finally releasing its long-awaited Instagram Lite app in 170 countries globally. The simplified app, which requires only 2 MB to download as opposed to 30 MB for its full-size version, promises a high-quality Instagram experience using minimal data. Although Instagram is already widely used in Africa’s biggest urban centers such as Lagos, Johannesburg and Nairobi, its growth outside of the major connectivity and economic hot spots has been impeded by its data-heavy framework. Expect to see a major boost to Instagram’s African user-base in the months and years to come.