Source: Africa Publicity
Japanese behemoth, Sony Group, has announced a $10 million innovation fund to support the growth of the entertainment industry in Africa.
The $10 million Sony Innovation Fund (SIF) is to focus on early-stage startups in gaming, film, music, content and distribution.
Sony Group has over the years made over 100 investments in sectors like entertainment, robotics, Artificial Intelligence, mobility, fintech, healthcare, logistics and SaaS.
French media entrepreneur and CEO of Restless Global, a company focused on developing and producing African-inspired stories for an international audience, Marie Lora-Mungai, said in Africa, the Sony Innovation Fund “will take a more focused approach by targeting creative businesses only, starting with South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana and ticket sizes ranging from $250,000 to $1 million.”
She added: “One thing that will differentiate Sony from other investors is that the Group also intends to leverage its expertise in areas such as film and music production, distribution and marketing, to facilitate the access of its future African portfolio companies to global markets.”
According to her, SIF is entering the African market with the backing of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), “which will provide financing, market expertise, and the ability to fund larger or follow-on rounds.”
The Sony Innovation Fund is seen as a boost for entertainment tech startups in Africa. African entertainment tech startups have reportedly struggled over the years to receive consistent venture capital.
A report by Partech Africa revealed that in 2022, African entertainment tech startups received $42 million, representing 0.9% of Africa’s total venture capital investments despite the enormous potential to be unlocked in gaming, music, movie and content distributions, critical areas within the industry that Sony is particular about.
For instance, look at the gaming industry in Africa. Per data from games market data providers Newzoo and Carry1st, a South African publisher of games and digital content, the gaming market in Sub-Saharan Africa is set to surpass $1 billion by 2024.
Similarly, video-on-demand subscriptions in Africa are projected to hit 13.7 million in 2027, up from 4.89 million at the end of 2021, with revenues tripling from $623 million in 2021 to $2 billion in 2027. Netflix, which this April said it had invested €160 million in film content production in Africa since 2016, and Amazon Prime face competition from other streaming platforms customizing for African audiences such as Showmax, Canal+, Disney+ and ROK in the race to capture market share in the video streaming market. On the other hand, the music industry is bolstered by the widespread streaming of indigenous genres such as Afrobeats and has expanded to the point where it’s attracting global record labels to sign its local artists.
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