Nigeria to benefit from Sony's $10m investment in African startups - Thepodiummedia

You are currently viewing Nigeria to benefit from Sony’s $10m investment in African startups

Post published:October 13, 2023
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Sony Group’s entertainment division has announced plans to invest $10 million in early-stage entertainment startups in Africa.

The investment will be made through Sony Innovation Fund: Africa (SIF: AF), a new fund established by Sony Ventures Corporation. SIF: AF will target startups in the gaming, music, film, and content distribution sectors.

The company plans to start with four countries: South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. The company will then look to expand to other countries in Africa.

Sony has chosen to focus on Nigeria because of its large and growing youth population, vibrant entertainment scene, and growing tech ecosystem. Nigeria is also home to several successful startups, such as iROKOtv, Boomplay, and Stripe.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Gen Tsuchikawa, CEO of Sony Ventures, said that the company is “fully committed to its entertainment line” and that Africa is a “key area of focus” for the Sony Innovation Fund.

“Africa, in particular, has a vibrant community of creators and entrepreneurs looking to invent new ways to enhance entertainment experiences for audiences,” Tsuchikawa said.

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Sony has not yet announced a timeline for when the investment will be deployed or how many startups will benefit from the funds. However, the company says it will begin the due diligence process for potential beneficiaries in the coming days.

Sony’s investment in African entertainment startups shows the growing interest in the continent’s tech and entertainment industries. Many other global tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, have also invested in African startups in recent years.

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Sony’s investment is also a boost for the Nigerian entertainment industry, which is already one of Africa’s largest and most vibrant. Sony’s investment will help fuel the industry’s growth and create new opportunities for Nigerian creatives and entrepreneurs.

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Morak Babajide-Alabi is a graduate of Mass Communication with a Master of Arts Degree in Journalism from Napier University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. He is an experienced Social Media practitioner with a strong passion for connecting with customers of brands.

Morak works as part of a team currently building an e-commerce project for the Volkswagen Group UK. Before this, he worked on the social media accounts of SKODA, Audi, SEAT, CUPRA, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. In this job, he brought his vast experience in journalism, marketing, and search engine optimisation to play to make sure the brands are well represented on social media. He monitored the performance of marketing campaigns and data analysis of all volumes of social media interaction for the brands.

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Morak is a dependable team player who succeeds in a high-pressure environment. He started his professional career with the flagship of Nigerian journalism – The Guardian Newspapers in 1992 where he honed his writing and editing skills before joining TELL Magazine. He has edited, reported for, and produced newspapers and magazines in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Morak is involved in the development of information management tools for the healthcare sector in Africa. He is on the board of DeMiTAG HealthConcepts Limited, a company with branches in London, Lagos, and Abuja, to make healthcare information available at the fingertips of professionals. DeMiTAG HealthConcepts Limited achieved this by collaborating with notable informatics companies. It had partnered in the past with Avia Informatics Plc and i2i TeleSolutions Pvt.

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Ademola AKINBOLA is an author, publisher, trainer, digital marketing strategist, and a brand development specialist with nearly three decades of experience in the areas of branding, communication, corporate reputation management, business development, organizational change management, and digital marketing.

He is the Founder and Head Steward at BrandStewards Limited, a brand and reputation management consultancy. He is also the Publisher of The Podium International Magazine, Ile-Oluji Times, and Who’s Who in Ile-Oluji.

He had a successful media practice at The Guardian, Punch and This Day.

He started his brand management career at Owena Bank as Media Relations Manager before joining Prudent Bank (now Polaris Bank) as the pioneer Head of Corporate Affairs.

The British Council appointed him as Head of Communication and Marketing to co-ordinate branding and reputation management activities at its Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt offices.

In 2007, he was recruited as the Head of Corporate Planning and Strategy for the Nigerian Aviation Handling company. He led on the branding, strategic planning and stakeholder management support function.

His job was later expanded and redesigned as Head of Corporate Communication and Business Development with the mandate to continue to execute the Board’s vision in the areas of Corporate Planning and Strategy, Branding and New Businesses.

In 2010, he voluntarily resigned from nacho aviance to focus on managing BrandStewards, a reputation and brand management firm he established in 2003. BrandStewards has successfully executed branding, re-branding and marketing communication projects for clients in the private and public sectors.

Ademola obtained a M.Sc. Degree in Digital Marketing & Web Analytics from Dublin Institute of Technology in 2016, and the Master of Communication Arts degree of the University of Ibadan in 1997. He had previously obtained a Higher National Diploma (with Upper Credit) in Mass Communication from Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta.

He has published several articles and authored five management books.

He has benefitted from several domestic and international training programmes on Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Change Management and Organizational Strategy.

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