Ivory Coast-based video on demand (VoD) startup StarNews Mobile, which helps connect users with their favourite celebrities, has passed the five million subscriber mark after just over two years in operation.
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 favourite celebrities’ channel 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.
Now the startup, which last year took part in the World Bank’s L’Afrique Excelle accelerator, has announced it has passed the five million subscriber mark. Its user base is growing by 23 per cent per quarter, and revenues are growing by 10 per cent over the same period.
“We are truly humbled that StarNews is resonating with millions of happy customers in Africa, and believe this bodes well for our continued expansion throughout Anglophone Africa later this year,” said founder Guy Kamgaing.
Aside from Nigeria, StarNew is targeting 20 extra markets in total through its MTN partnership.
