Launched in July 2017, StarNews Mobile targets the mass market with a network of over 50 mobile channels offering celebrity-based content priced at low daily subscription rates.
Users can subscribe to their favorite celebrities’ channels through their operator for as low as US$0.10 per day. Once subscribed, they receive a video link via SMS to watch exclusive videos daily. The revenue generated from the subscription fee is then shared between the operator, the content provider, and StarNews Mobile.
The startup deployed in Ivory Coast in partnership with operators MTN and Moov and broke the one million subscriber mark back in April 2018. Since then it has launched in Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, and South Africa, with a Nigeria rollout taking place soon, and has passed the five million subscriber mark.
StarNews is a media platform allowing content creators to monetize their fanbase in Africa, the world’s most promising continent. Demand for content is high among Africa’s tens of millions of young people, but data is expensive and quickly spent on most platforms.
They partner with the biggest telecom companies to provide exclusive video content directly to mobile users and allow them to benefit from micro billing on their mobile wallets for a better experience.
StarNews Mobile is dedicated to helping creators earn real income by monetizing their content. Here are some of the ways that the platform and the team assist creators in providing quality content, connecting with their audience, and monetizing their work.
StarNews began by collaborating with local and international African celebrities such as Fally Ipupa, Serge Beynaud, Lady Ponce, and Davido and has been moving since 2019 toward the development of new themes.
Monetization is one of the key challenges of the model: the startup offers content creators a stable source of income through the sharing of generated revenue.
How it Works
StarNews Is Built With Creators In Mind
By partnering with the biggest telecommunications operators, including MTN and Orange, StarNews Mobile can provide the creators with direct access to a wallet of 430 million consumers – even Facebook doesn’t provide them with that level of reach.
StarNews Mobile actively promotes creators to their subscribers. They are on track to acquire 500 million subscribers in Africa and 200 million globally with the diaspora.
Additionally, their team is constantly finding new opportunities to monetize their content such as subscription, advertising, sponsorship, on-demand, etc.
Their distribution and payment processes are integrated and seamless, thus illuminating one of the biggest obstacles to monetization in Africa.
StarNews Offers Creators Training and Detailed Reporting.
StarNews Mobile hosts training programs for creators on how to use the StarNews Mobile platform, make quality video content, and turn loyal followers into active subscribers.
StarNews Mobile provides creators with detailed reports on the success of their content and feedback on how to increase their revenue.
These reports include traditional analytics as well as reports on their earnings, the impact of each specific activity on their revenue, the stickiness of their followers, the number of subscribers acquired from posting on Facebook and Instagram, etc.
StarNews Hosts And Sponsors Events That Generate Revenue
StarNews Mobile hosts Meet & Greet events that help creators connect with their fans and further establish their brands.
The StarNews Show allows creators to compete on television and provides finalists with increased publicity, exposure, and big earnings.
StarNews Helps Creators Think Like Small Businesses.
The StarNews Mobile team guides creators and helps them prioritize their revenue and return on investment.
Rather than only focusing on followers and engagement alone, they help them shift their perspective to view themselves as entrepreneurs who take profit & loss into consideration and adjust their strategy accordingly.
On StarNews Mobile, their revenue is directly tied to their activity on the platform.
With their ability to produce quality content and StarNews’s ability to distribute it through its telco distribution partners, there is a very direct and clear path to income that creators can not find anywhere else.
Lastly, StarNews Mobile invests in creators. Using the extensive performance data they collect on each creator, they can determine which creators and campaigns will be profitable for both the creator and StarNews Mobile.
Founders
Guy Kamgaing
Guy Kamgaing is the Founder and CEO of StarNews Mobile, a network of addictive mobile video channels that is successfully monetizing video content in Africa, the world’s fastest-growing mobile market.
Guy Kamgaing studied at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Investors & Funding Rounds
Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P)
StarNews is carrying out its first fundraising with Investors & Partners, through its I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 fund.
On the strength of this 9th investment, IPAE 2 is continuing to invest actively in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Madagascar, West Africa, and East Africa.
StarNews is raising funds from Investisseurs & Partenaires, and more specifically its I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 fund, launched at the end of 2017 to support the emergence of a new generation of responsible African companies.
The company falls fully within the investment mandate of the IPAE2 fund, due to its unique and relevant positioning in a booming market and its strong impact on the promotion of African talent.
By 2022, IPAE 2 had financed around twenty additional African SMEs, for amounts of up to 3 million euros (2 billion FCFA).
StarNews has partnered with major pan-African mobile operators such as MTN and Orange to distribute exclusive, quality video content directly to users.
Main Competitors
MeetingPlay: This is the mobile event app to connect your attendees.
Vuclip: It is a video-on-demand service for emerging markets.
Dejero: This is a critical connectivity solutions provider.
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