Afro Nation 2024
🎵 🎶As I am sending this new edition of HUSTLE & FLOW, I am just back from Afro Nation, the world’s top Afrobeats and Amapiano festival that took place for the 4th time this year in Portimão, Portugal.
🌍 It was fascinating to see the physical embodiment - through the festival’s 40,000 attendees - of the African and diaspora entertainment market we keep talking about: young, multilingual and multicultural, with solid purchasing power (tickets, travel and merch were not cheap, y’all).
I’ll dig deeper into this in future posts.
Meanwhile, this month of June brought us a new African film fund (they’re coming out like hot cakes), some pretty dire financial results for MultiChoice, progress in the financialization of the Creator Economy, the Grammys’ first steps in the continent, a new proof of concept for the NBA Africa, and more.
Read on 🤓👇 and don’t forget to subscribe 👉 https://lnkd.in/drBY8jnz
FILM
French film finance and production outfit Logical Pictures is expanding its reach into Africa, with the launch of the Logical African Stories Fund.
🎬 The new venture aims to become the go-to financing partner and leading production company for African content with global aspirations. But it also plans to invest beyond content by financing production companies, infrastructure, and distribution solutions across the continent.
According to Logical group’s head Frédéric Fiore, Logical Pictures Africa is about creating an ecosystem that mirrors their successful model in Europe, tailored to the unique creative landscape of Africa.
📈 Established in 2016, Logical Pictures Group has become a leading player in film and TV equity, producing, financing and distributing a range of content in France and internationally. Across its various holdings, the group had a whopping 11 films at this year’s Cannes Festival.
With a focus on the key markets of Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Benin, Logical Pictures Africa already has a slate of 18 African films and TV series in different stages of development and production.
🌟 Pape Boye (Black Mic Mac) and Nicola Ofoego are leading content development efforts, which include projects with African A-listers such as Burna Boy, Sundance winner Sofia Alaoui, and Ladj Ly’s Kourtrajme -- the best African content slate I’ve seen so far.
BROADCAST
📉Multichoice is either worth $3 billion, or it is insolvent. Depends on who you ask.
For its fiscal year ending in March, the South African Pay TV giant reported a 5% drop in revenue, a 21% decline in group trading profit, and a staggering after-tax loss of $226 million.
⚠️ With its liabilities ($2.49 billion) now larger than its assets ($2.43 billion), MultiChoice could not settle all its debts if forced to sell its assets - making it technically insolvent.
MultiChoice’s financial “annus horribilis” was caused by the cost-of-living crisis which led to a 9% decline in active subscribers across the continent, and by unfavorable foreign exchange rates, especially in Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, and Zambia. The losses also include the recent investments made in Showmax 2.0, which will take time to offset.
👎🏾👍🏾 This is the company’s worst financial performance on record. And yet, thanks to Canal+’s buy-out offer of R125 per share, which the Multichoice board officially accepted (you bet), the company has never been worth more.
What does Canal+ see in this deal?
✅ The merger is expected to help save millions in costs as technology spending, content production and acquisitions are combined.
✅ Affordable television in Africa is still a valuable asset, especially since internet streaming remains too expensive for most.
✅ Multichoice, DStv, Showmax and SuperSport are very strong brands.
✅ Together, the merged company will have 50 million subscribers (30 million in Africa) – making it the biggest entertainment company in the world that's not American.
✅ Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada thinks that the merged entity can become one of the top-five largest entertainment groups in the world, alongside Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.
All these points make perfect sense. However, I believe that Canal+ has one key blind spot 👨🏾🦯:
The innate vulnerability of African media businesses operating in markets with volatile currencies.
⚖️Indeed, despite recent forays in Ethiopia and Rwanda, Canal+’s business practices are largely informed by the 30 years it has spent operating in Francophone West Africa -- a region shielded from currency fluctuations by the CFA Franc, which is pegged to the euro.
🐎In contrast, English-speaking Africa is a forex Wild West, where the fortunes of your entire business may be decided by factors as far from your control as the nose diving rate of the Naira. Just ask MTN, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble, or Sanofi.
Buckle up, Canal+.
CREATOR ECONOMY
😂 Nigerian skit-makers are laughing all the way to the bank, says Forbes.
“Skit-maker” is the name given to creators of comedic social media content in Nigeria.
😷They emerged around 2015 and steadily gained prominence, with the Covid pandemic lockdowns accelerating their growth and popularity.
Today, this segment of the Creative Economy is flourishing and redefining entertainment.
📊 But that’s not all: it is now also significantly contributing to the country's GDP. According to global talent accelerator Dataleum, skit-making is now one of Nigeria's top entertainment sectors, worth over $31.2 million (and way more in Naira terms, obs).
📱 Instagram and YouTube are key platforms. Combining ad revenue with brand endorsements, some skit-makers can earn over $20,000 per month.
Nigeria’s best known skit-makers include Kiekie (3.6 million Instagram followers) and of course Mark Angel, the OG, whose YouTube channel was the first African comedy channel to reach one million subscribers (it now has over 9 million). Last year, Angel’s Instagram skits amassed nearly 197 million views.
💡 The industry is starting to attracting transnational collaborations, such as with American actor Terry Crews. Kai Cenat, an American online streamer and YouTuber, also recently visited Nigeria.
According to the Africa Polling Institute (API), 90% of Nigerians polled viewed comedy skits as a viable means of employment.
💼 Not everyone may have the funny chops to become a professional comedian online, but digital content creation is likely to become a key component of the future of work in Nigeria, and across Africa.
As the content creation industry grows across the continent, the need for efficient, secure, and flexible payment solutions is becoming more critical.
🔔 💳 Mastercard has announced a $2 million investment in collaboration with influencer marketing platform Wowzi and Masria Digital Payments (MDP).
📈 This five-year initiative will enable Wowzi’s content creators to obtain digital payment cards to simplify financial transactions both online and offline.
🔄 Payments from brands, fans, or sponsors will be received directly onto these digital cards, which will also come loaded with exclusive Mastercard rewards and benefits.
🌐 "Our decision to invest in the influencer and content creation space is a testament to our belief in the transformative power of the gig economy." said Mastercard Senior VP and Country Manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Shehryar Ali.
Mastercard has been one of the key promoters (both through its foundation and through its main business) of the creative industries as an engine of job creation for the youth in Africa.
FASHION & TEXTILE
👙 African asset management firm TLG Capital has announced their investment into Liberty & Justice (L&J), an African swimwear brand.
Founded in 2022 by Chid Liberty and former Miss Africa Georgie Badiel Liberty, L&J is already available in over 250 Target stores across the USA.
👗 Liberty is known for establishing Liberia’s first fair-trade certified apparel factory, while Badiel is a long-time social activist.
📈 The TLG deal will extend a $5 million financing line to L&J, enabling the company to open a new factory in Liberia, create 700 jobs and bring African-inspired prints to the global market.
This investment marks a milestone as TLG Capital becomes the first institutional investor to support the Africa-made apparel line.
It is also the 40th deal for TLG, an alternative asset management firm that “seeks out unique investment opportunities, inventing new asset classes and innovative investment structures” to capitalize on unconventional assets in Africa.
💡TLG’s model is a very interesting one to explore for the Creative industries. In fact, the firm has shown a growing interest in the Creative sector, extending another financing line to Inkblot Studios in April this year.
TLG Capital’s Aum Thacker said “The retreat of multinationals from Africa presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for nimble and passionate entrepreneurs to build things in the markets they know best. We are beyond excited to partner with Chid, Georgie, and the Liberty & Justice team, supporting their vision of ‘Made in Africa’ being on the clothing-tag in shops around the world.”
VISUAL ARTS
🌟 Google Arts & Culture strikes again, this time with a virtual exhibition platform on Rwandan history and culture.
🏛️🎨The platform is a partnership between Google and the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy (RCHA), and serves as a hub to preserve and digitize Rwandan stories, images, and more.
It provides access to past exhibitions on the history of Rwanda, visuals of museums and heritage sites, exhibitions that promote art and craft in Rwanda, as well as photos of objects that have never been on public display.
🖼️The project started in 2021, but its implementation was implemented from 2022. So far, 58 stories and 1,500 photos have been uploaded.
Once again, Google shows us one of the best contributions that technology can make to global cultural preservation and awareness. Because, obviously, there is a lot more to Rwanda than the genocide.
MUSIC
🌍🎶 The GRAMMY Awards are coming to Africa.
The Recording Academy, the organization behind the GRAMMYs, has announced the launch of its operations in Africa and the Middle East.
🎤 This development is aligned with the Recording Academy’s mission to support music creators globally, particularly in regions with rapidly growing music scenes.
🎧 Over the past two years, the organization has engaged in extensive listening sessions and discussions with key private and government stakeholders in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana, Ivory Coast, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
📚 The goal was to build a framework for enhancing the Academy’s presence and services in these regions.
Key initiatives will include:
Empowering music creators through the GRAMMY GO™ online learning platform
Producing original content to celebrate local music scenes
Advocating for strong Intellectual Property (IP) legislation
Collaborating to strengthen the creative economy
This move by the GRAMMYs is yet another sign of the mainstreaming of African music globally, and within the Recording Academy.
🎵 Earlier this year, South African singer Tyla won the inaugural Best African Music Performance GRAMMY with her Amapiano-infused Afro pop hit “Water”.
The decision to include an Africa-specific award in the program came about because music from the continent is now "prevalent everywhere in the world", according to the Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr.
Mason Jr became the first Black person to be in charge of the GRAMMY awards in 2021.
🌐 The launch of the Grammys' operations in Africa is a historic opportunity for the continent’s music industry, providing an enhanced platform for African music to be recognized and celebrated worldwide.
SPORTS
🏀 Cameroon's Ulrich Chomche becomes the first NBA Academy Africa prospect to be drafted to the NBA.
Chomche is also the first prospect across all three of the league’s NBA Academies (located in Senegal, Mexico and Australia) to be drafted directly out of an NBA Academy, and the first player to be drafted after participating in the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
⛹🏾Chomche joined the NBA Academy training center in Saly, Senegal in 2019 when he was 14-years-old. Only five years later, he was just now selected 57th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies. He is the 7th player from Cameroon to be drafted in the NBA.
This is a welcome proof of concept for the NBA, which has invested hundreds of millions to develop its African operations.
The NBA, as well as other international leagues such as the NFL and the PFL, are looking at the continent both as a new potential market to sell their content and products, but also as a source of premium talent.
🌍⚽️ The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has moved the dates of the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from June-July 2025 to December 21 2025 to January 18 2026, in order not to clash with the FIFA World Cup (June 15 to July 13 2025), nor with the UEFA’s Champions League (ending on December 11 and starting again on January 21 2026).
🤯 This scheduling headache illustrates how congested the international football calendar has become, and many are worried that AFCON will end up being the losing party:
European clubs might refuse to release players at these dates, particularly clubs in the English Premier League who don’t take a winter break but instead run a full and intense league program.
🎅🏿Fans may also be less willing to travel to Morocco to attend matches during the holiday period, while the general audience will be distracted by Detty December and other seasonal activities.
This could potentially be financially disastrous for the CAF, after the $80 million profit from this year’s very successful edition, which took place in (and was won by) Ivory Coast.
💡OR…could it be a great marketing opportunity for both the CAF and Morocco, which is already a popular destination for many Europeans at that time of year? Beach, football and Christmas tajine, anyone?
CONSULTING OPPORTUNITY
Talking about Morocco, one of the reasons we all love the country is because it has one of the most vibrant creative scenes in the world.
How do we take it to the next level?
My client IFC is looking for a consulting firm to conduct a study on Access to Finance for the Creative and Cultural Industries in Morocco.
This study will be used to develop specific tools that will enable IFC and its partners to channel funding to Moroccan companies in sectors such as film/tv, animation, gaming, music, fashion, design, arts and crafts, sports, and more.
Come work with me and with IFC - all details here.
The deadline for the Expressions of Interest is July 10th.