Ivory Coast-Based Startup, StarNews Mobile Receives $1.8m Funding From Investors & Partners

Ivory Coast-based startup StarNews Mobile, has received funding from Investors & Partners (I&P), which finances and supports startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa.

The company received a pre-Series A funding of US$1.8 million round to help boost its growth.

StarNews mobile is a video content distribution platform, which targets the masses and offers them celebrity-based content with a network of over 50 channels at a low subscription price.

Users on subscriptions can receive a video link of their favorite celebrities via SMS for as low as $0.10.

I&P investment manager Nouss Bih said his company was proud to support a talented and experienced African entrepreneur who demonstrates a real commitment to deploy a pan-African solution and innovation.

“We share StarNews’ ambition to promote African artists and to produce a greater diversity of quality local content with high added value for end-users,” commented Nouss Bih.

This is the ninth investment made through the I&P Afrique entrepreneurs 2 fund set up in 2017, which aims to support twenty companies by 2022. The impact investment group currently led by Jean-Michel Severino, former CEO of the French Development Agency (AFD), will support StarNews’ expansion in sub-Saharan Africa.

StarNews is currently operating in four African markets namely Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Congo, and South Africa. The company will use the money to develop content with more added value for its users.